\n\tBy SHANNON O. WELLS<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen the west wing of Scaife Hall on Terrace Street was built, several tons of building materials that otherwise would\u2019ve been landfill bound \u2014 theater seats, wood flooring and aluminum panels among them \u2014 were instead salvaged and put to use in the new construction or donated to other projects.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cA number of building materials were reused during demolition in the construction of the west wing, and that is just cool to think that they took those materials, stored them and actually put them back into the building that is the west wing now,\u201d said Annie Shvach, sustainability manager in Planning, Design, and Construction. \u201cI think we were able to donate about five tons of material instead of having that waste to go within a landfill.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIn total, we were able to divert 75% of the entire waste to other places that\u2019s not a landfill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThis was among the sustainability-oriented elements that led to Scaife Hall\u2019s west wing earning a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification<\/a> this year from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it Pitt\u2019s 20th LEED-certified building since 2005. The buildings are in Oakland as well as the regional campuses and seven are part of Pitt Health Sciences.<\/p>\n \n\tThe project included adding a seven-story wing to Scaife Hall, which houses Pitt\u2019s School of Medicine, with updated learning spaces, a renovated library and new caf\u00e9. Among the sustainable features are LED lighting; heat recovery systems; occupancy-based ventilation; 100% renewable electricity, including a rooftop solar array; native plantings around the building; and a stormwater feature along the Lothrop Street side.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe try to be very particular with LEED,\u201d Shvach explained. \u201cWe have to upload those receipts.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe admitted being a \u201clittle shocked\u201d to learn that contractors \u201cwere excited\u201d by the provision, \u201cbecause they\u2019re not having to deal with as much waste as they started with. They\u2019re able to divert and take back some of that revenue,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a benefit for them to just grab and to repurpose the materials as well. Our contractors have been one of our biggest allies in helping divert waste.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe new 134.2-kilowatt solar panel array on the roof of Scaife Hall\u2019s west wing, including 244 individual bifacial solar panels, became operational in April, noted Aurora Sharrard, assistant vice chancellor for Pitt Sustainability.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThey produce just under 160,000 kilowatt-hours annually, which saves the University about $275,000 in electric costs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n\tLEED-certification standards also require a life-cycle analysis on the building.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt really helped with our energy modeling. Something else that\u2019s cool about the building that\u2019s not as apparent \u2026 is doing this intensive modeling to see what energy performance looks like for the building in the design phase,\u201d Shvach said. \u201cWe can tweak and actually update and fix some of those things so we have a better outcome for energy reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSharrard explained that energy modeling is a process done in partnership with a project\u2019s architect and the mechanical engineer.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThey do this \u2018envelope modeling.\u2019 If you look at the building from the outside, they modeled it in different ways, like, \u2018What if it was just a box? What if it had this like bump-out where the first floor actually sits back a little bit and the other floors hang over the ground, what does that do for the building? What if you tweak these different aspects?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Scaife Hall project included vertical exterior fins that were the \u201cend result of all the energy modeling\u201d that help the overall energy performance of the building. \u201cThey modeled that, and there was quantitative analysis that went into making that decision,\u201d Sharrard noted. \u00a0<\/p>\n \tNeed for LEED<\/p>\n \n\tPursuing LEED certification is common practice on any Pitt building set to undergo major renovations.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen we say major renovations, it\u2019s (based on) the cost of the scope of work, but when I started here, it wasn\u2019t a huge leap for us to continue to pursue LEED,\u201d Shvach said, adding that Pitt Sustainability is \u201creally embedded\u201d in how the Office of Planning, Design & Construction functions as a whole. \u201cSome of the basic practices that we do are requiring a construction waste plan on most of our projects, where contractors have to tell us where our waste is going.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThat\u2019s something that applies to all projects, not just LEED projects,\u201d she added. \u201cWe have a University Design Manual<\/a>, which is something that I\u2019m updating. Within Division C, specifically, we have our sustainability standards, and they reference LEED for most of our projects.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSharrard called the Pitt Sustainability Plan 2025 Amendment<\/a> to embed LEED standards for renovated Pitt buildings a matter of \u201creally putting a stake in the ground of what we think is a meaningful achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLEED, she noted, considers energy and water use, the indoor environment, quality of materials, \u201call the things. And as an owner, when you pursue a big building certification, you can prioritize what makes sense for you for that project.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhat this goal did specifically for the University is saying, \u2018Yes, we\u2019re going to continue to pursue LEED as we always have (and) we\u2019re going to call out a level of LEED certification that is important to us, LEED Gold or better,\u2019\u201d Sharrard said.<\/p>\n \n\tThe approach also indicates Pitt \u201ccares deeply about the actual performance of buildings,\u201d not just the design and construction, she noted. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we track in detail across campus for both new and existing buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n \tSustainable summer<\/p>\n \n\tAlthough Pitt Sustainability offers fewer activities and programs in summer than during the academic year, Sharrard emphasizes that \u201cthere\u2019s never a slow time for sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re always working part of our team operationally \u2026 but regardless of what their role is in sustainability, our team is busy year-round,\u201d she said. \u201cFor instance, our academic partners at the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation<\/a> have their largest-ever cohort of summer sustainability research students.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cRight now, I think they have 39 students across different disciplines working with faculty partners on sustainability-focused research all summer. They also have a service associated with that program as community partners and sessions on different educational topics across both academics and more general things.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSome upcoming Pitt Sustainability events include:<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\u201cPollinators in the Light Tour, a partnership with Heinz Chapel for National Pollinator Month,\u201d taking place from noon-1 p.m. June 30.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\u201cWeaving Calm: Paper, Process & Presence,\u201d a discussion of the history of women\u2019s roles in crafting, as well as the meditative qualities of artmaking and the value of slowing down through creative practice, as you develop your own unique woven piece, from 4-5 p.m. June 30 in Hillman Library\u2019s Text and conText Lab in Room 310.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\u201cHow to Grow Your Green Office: An Introduction to Pitt\u2019s Green Office Program,\u201d on from noon-1 p.m. June 14.<\/p>\n \n\tTo register and for more details and events, visit the Pitt Sustainability Events Calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tShannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHave a story idea or news to share? Share<\/a> it with the University Times.<\/p>\n