Fall 2008 - Issue 1

The Silversword: Home > Chaminade Life > Sustainable Construction Planned for Chaminade

Sustainable Construction Planned for Chaminade

Jessica Burke, Entertainment and Travel/Leisure Co-Editor

Chaminade University has more eco-friendly construction visions for the near future. 
Mike Haisen, director of facilities, is currently working on the planning and implementation of these changes on campus.

Haisen and his team have interviewed energy audit firms and are in the process of selecting a firm to do a comprehensive audit of all the buildings at the university.

“Once this is in place, this will allow us to monitor our electrical use and receive feedback from electrical conservation measures in the future,” said Haisen.

The majority of the green development on campus is in the designs for the new buildings and in the existing renovations currently taking place on older structures.

These green changes are not limited to just the construction on campus. 

“We are also investigating the possibilities of companies to do campus-wide recycling,” said Haisen.

Funding concerns are always an issue when it comes to construction on campus, but according to Haisen, the university has received major donations for the upcoming renovations of Henry Hall.  Donations were also given for the renovation of the newly renamed Clarence T.C. Ching Hall.

One goal of the construction is to achieve LEED silver certification for the new dorm that is being designed for the upper campus.  The U.S. Green Building Council developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, along with the green building rating system.  This provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction around the United States.  The rating system addresses six major areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resource, indoor environmental quality, and innovation of the design process.

Certification is then based on specific regulations and a variety of credits in the six major categories listed above.  New construction and major renovations for commercial buildings can earn up to 69 possible points.  This will allow for qualification in one of the following levels: certified- 26-32 points, silver- 33-38 points, gold- 39-51 points, and platinum- 52-69 points.

Chaminade hopes to improve the environment through these changes, as well as save the campus some money. 

“The return on investment for sustainability projects is usually 30-40 percent, which is a significant savings to the college,” said Haisen.

The university has improvement projects arranged through the next five years.  Haisen hopes that the renovations and construction towards a more sustainable campus will continue as planned.