Sustainable Buildings

Campus Sustainability
Our Campus
Sustainable Buildings

Campus Structures

St. Olaf follows a design process for any new construction or existing renovation that is informed by best practices such as LEED and Well Building standards. St. Olaf also takes advantage of applicable energy design assistance programs offered by the local utility that have generated $500K+ in savings on past projects. Architectural decisions are made that best suit the building’s purpose and long-term life cycle.

In addition, custodial supplies have been converted to Green Seal-certified materials, eliminating the presence of various environmentally unfriendly chemicals. Residence hall renovations will remove vinyl tiles, replacing them in student rooms with hypo-allergenic carpet tiles that are made with recycled material and are themselves recyclable. Vinyl tiles in corridors are being replaced with quarry tiles, eliminating strippers, waxes, and other surface finishes from the buildings.

Campus construction projects in recent decades have been executed with a consistent focus on sustainability. Read more about the features of individual buildings:

A sustainably designed student center.

Opened in November 1999, Buntrock was intentionally designed to optimize natural daylight. A skylight over the Crossroads offers central light to all three floors. Slate floors were chosen for their strength and durability as well as easy cleaning. No chemical treatments, sealing or finishing is necessary. Carpet tiles are used for high-traffic areas; when one piece is damaged, it can be replaced without redoing the entire floor, and the removed tile is recycled.

Like many buildings on campus, Buntrock Commons has a slate roof. Slate roofs costs more initially, but better withstand rough Minnesota weather and can last more than 100 years.

A LEED certified building built for scientific discovery.

Finished in September 2008, Regents Hall was the first St. Olaf building designed and constructed with a goal of obtaining the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. LEED emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. With features such as a green roof, reliance on passive solar lighting, and the minimization of chemical and biological waste, Regents Hall is not simply a model for responsible environmental stewardship but a daily working example of sustainability in practice.

Regents Hall’s “green roof” — planted with low-maintenance sedums, cacti, grasses and columbine — helps reduce the building’s heating and cooling load and minimizes its heat signature. The green roof also reduces stormwater runoff, filters carbon dioxide out of the air, and filters pollutants out of rainwater. Water that does not infiltrate is captured and released in a waterfall that cascades into a stream that flows into stormwater ponds below the parking lot. The rooftop rainwater collection system also provides water for use in the greenhouse.

Energy consumption is significantly reduced by design elements that harvest daylight. Abundant natural light penetrates deep into interior spaces due to extensive use of interior windows and light transoms. Fritted glass on southern-exposure windows work to reduce the summer solar heating. The HVAC systems in the building are designed to reclaim the heat energy from exhaust air; during winter months that energy is then sent to warm the incoming air to the greatest extent possible.

All wood and related forest products inside Regents Hall are free of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds, reducing total off-gassing and promoting cleaner indoor air. In addition, all wood used in the building was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Environmentally-Conscious Construction

St. Olaf approaches construction with an awareness of environmental impact and a commitment to industry standards for green building.

The many complex decisions that are made by the college during a construction or renovation project are informed by the best practices of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification program and the WELL Building Standard programs that consider the inhabitants’ health and wellness within the built environment. While not necessarily pursuing accreditation within these codified systems, many of the design aspects of a project meet or exceed these industry standards. All projects meet or exceed regulatory agency energy requirements, including the Minnesota Energy Code and the most current American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) codes. These codes and standards pertain to building HVAC systems, building exterior envelopes and building insulation, and overall building operations. We ask our contractors and subcontractors to use waste management and recycling practices for construction wastes and byproducts with the intent that as much material as possible be recycled. The College deconstructs existing structures on campus that will no longer be used and salvages those materials.

Thoughtful Deconstruction

St. Olaf Facilities and Construction workers approach new construction projects with a sustainable mindset. When tearing down a structure, the process is called “deconstruction” rather than “demolition”, encouraging a thoughtful attitude towards the materials being disposed of. Materials are salvaged and donated or recycled whenever possible.