Iowa State University is getting it’s first "green" building on campus. A groundbreaking will be held next Friday on a pavilion addition to the ISU College of Design building. Mark Engelbrecht, dean of the College of Design, says the addition will be constructed with recycled materials and will incorporate various energy saving techniques.
The building will have natural ventilation, daylighting, and rain-water control with a grass roof. The two-story facility has a price tag of 6.25 million dollars. "But, we expect we’ll be realizing substantial savings on this from the very first day we open," Engelbrecht says. "We’re looking at a two to four year payback on those additional costs. Of course, that’s part of the experiment here. We’ll be monitoring this to see exactly how well we do with this whole business." The pavilion addition will be used primarily by freshman and sophomore students.
"We need to look at (the building’s construction) as part of our curriculum," Engelbrecht says, "this is actually going to be a learning and teaching tool as much as it is simple housing for our activities." Iowa State alumni Steven and Barbara King have provided 1.5 million dollars to the pavilion addition, which is expected to be completed in early 2009.