WTA ARCHITECTS
"Green is the New Green" at Delta College
"Our color will always be green" is one of the pledges you will find when flipping through sustainability brochures for Delta College. Delta takes great pride in its progress towards developing and maintaining a campus that integrates sustainability in all of its educational, administrative and operational activities.
When we think about sustainable design at WTA Architects, spaces that include a long-term vision and are visually appealing are what come to our minds and that is why it was a natural partnership with Delta College in the designing of their updated Health Professions Building. The 93,384 square foot building combines the passion that Delta College has for creating a sustainable environment with WTA Architect's passion for creating designs that are new and innovative.
As you enter the building through the new vestibule addition, the tall glass windows that enclose the newly added elevator and the Nedlaw living wall are the focal point of the area. The college had a vision that included the introduction of natural light into a once dark and dim lower level. The glass clad three story atrium now allows natural lighting to enter into the building that not only provides light to the space, but also sunlight to the living wall.
This entryway is currently serving two purposes for the building. The vestibule creates an air lock where air flow is reduced while the primary doors are open. It also saves the building energy by reducing the loss of warm air in the winter and cooled air in the summer. The Nedlaw living wall is an architectural feature that serves to remove contaminants from the air using moist media, standard indoor plants, and harvested rainwater acting as a bio filter to improve air quality and reduce outside air intake needs.
Other key "green" features of the Health Professions Building include:
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Eco-preferable Furniture manufactured using post-consumer, post-industrial waste, or salvaged materials, and;
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Indirect lighting and high light reflective ceiling tiles that combine to provide the same level of illumination as standard lighting with fewer luminaries, resulting in about a 25% reduction of lighting and HVAC energy costs.
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To learn more about Delta College's green campus, Visit: www.delta.edu/sustainability.
Like: www.facebook.com/deltasustainability
Follow: http://twitter.com/DeltaEcoReps
Contact: sustainability@delta.edu