E&H to Construct Passive Energy Residence Hall
Front Page Photo by Earl Neikirk courtesy of the Bristol Herald Courier
Emory & Henry College broke ground Wednesday on what is expected to be the first-ever residence hall in the nation to use passive energy.
The new 117-bed facility, which will cost an estimated $7.5 million, represents the College’s most significant initiative in energy efficient construction. The new building, to be called Hickory Hall, will be constructed with the aim of obtaining passive house energy certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Upon obtaining such certification, Hickory Hall would be the first large-scale residence hall in the nation to be built to such high standards for energy efficiency.
“This is an important step forward in our efforts to save money while helping to preserve the environment,” said E&H President Rosalind Reichard. “At the same time, we are living up to our commitment to provide students with high-quality living environments that are conducive to learning and consistent with our strong academic reputation.”
The passive house movement has its roots in Europe, yet only a handful of buildings in the United States meet these rigorous standards. These building standards include a requirement that the building must be designed to meet certain minimal heating and cooling demands, limits to the total primary energy consumption (primary energy for heating, hot water and electricity), and strict limits on the amount of air that is leaked from the heating and cooling of the building.
In Hickory Hall, Emory & Henry aims to reduce the heating and cooling load by approximately 70 percent. This will be accomplished by maximizing the building’s orientation toward the sun, using high-performance windows, and creating an extremely tight and well-insulated building envelope.
Indoor air quality will be maintained by bringing in outdoor air with a heat recovery ventilator, which supplies filtered, fresh air that passes through an 80 percent plus efficient heat exchanger. The result is a remarkably stable and healthy indoor environment that provides students with the same amenities they would get in any new residence hall, but with much lower energy costs.
The new four-story facility will be located near another residential facility, Elm Hall. Constructed in 2010 Elm Hall was the first of three residence halls that, according to a campus building master plan, were anticipated for construction near the E&H Martin-Brock Student Center. Hickory Hall, which will be located perpendicular to Elm, would become the second of those halls. When all three are completed, they will form a quad that will include the student center.
The new residence hall will provide double-occupancy rooms, each of which has its own bathroom. It continues a trend at the College toward high-quality living conditions that are compatible with the College’s reputation for excellence and rigorous academic standards. The design for Hickory Hall coordinates with other buildings on the E&H campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
“This new residence hall will help us recruit and retain students,” according to Donna Vaughn, a member of the E&H Board of Trustees. “Emory & Henry has been here for 175 years, and we are going to be here another 175 years. Because of that, we must continue to have up-to-date facilities.”
Under Reichard leadership, Emory & Henry has invested more than $35 million in new construction and renovation at the College. All new construction at the College has achieved some level of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design) certification.
Hickory Hall will set a standard of excellence for all future projects at Emory & Henry, Reichard said. It will be a model to other colleges, big and small, that you can build an affordable and efficient building that still matches the aesthetic of any campus.
