Green buildings
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Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life. The university aims to attract incoming freshmen and others to the college campus through the use of green as well as new facilities.
Leed Certified
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), developed in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is an internationally-recognized green building certification system and is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. LEED provides building owners with a framework on how to construct or renovate for efficient, healthy, and cost-saving green design in the construction, operation, and maintenance of their buildings.
Green Buildings
According to EPA.gov, “Green Building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction.” These sustainable and high-performing buildings are designed to reduce the environmental impact:
- Efficiently use energy, water, and other resources
- Use of renewable energy, such as solar energy
- Reducing environmental degradation through the use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical and sustainable
- Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity through pollution and waste reduction as well as positive indoor air quality
- Consideration of the environment in design, construction, and operation
CONVOCATION CENTER ANNEX (CCA)
The 23,400 sq. ft. Convocation Annex was completed on July 18, 2012. The Annex contains a large
reception room with the capacity to hold up to 200 occupants, three meeting/conference rooms,
storage rooms, and a recycling room on the first floor. The second floor showcases an aerobics, dance,
and/or cheerleading practice classroom, men's and women's locker rooms, and five faculty offices. The
top floor houses the athletic department, including five directors' offices, three coaches' offices, five
equipment storage rooms, and two classrooms with the capacity to hold 30 to 45 students. Each floor of
the Annex has an open lounge area where students can gather quietly or study.
The Convocation Annex serves as a complementary building to the Convocation Academic Center and is
located across the street from the CAC at the Xavier University West Campus and connects to the
greater Xavier University Campus:
Some LEED features of the Annex:
- Alternative transportation such as bicycle storage racks and access to public transportation
- Water-efficient landscaping, with at least 30% reduced water usage
- Optimized energy performance improved by 18% with devices such as sensor occupancy lights
- Utilized 20% recycled content and materials in construction
- Controllable lighting systems installed
Named for Xavier University’s founder, the St. Katharine Drexel Chapel, the 11,000-square-foot Chapel was completed in October 2012. Raised 4 feet above ground to avoid flooding, the masterpiece, a standalone chapel on the campus of Xavier University, has become an instant landmark, with an octagonal-shaped cooper roof and ascending stone ramp at the main entrance. To add to its uniqueness, there is limestone cladding from Portugal, granite flooring from China, wall panels from Holland, glass from Indiana, and a host of other international connections that span the globe. This facility includes a main sanctuary, sacristy, a 40-seat meditation room, day chapel, bell tower, meditation garden, and the capacity to accommodate upward of 450 occupants.
This project was constructed adjacent to the Qatar Pharmacy Pavilion, in the space that was once the Xavier University Student Center and is the central point on Xavier’s main campus. This facility is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified non-residential building constructed on Xavier's campus.
Some LEED features of the Chapel:
- Low energy demand and Optimized energy performance by using daylight to reduce artificial
- lighting and the buildings orientation and window placement allow for minimal solar heat increase
- Day use which causes lower anticipated attendance, helps minimize temperature control (HVAC/heating) loads
- Water-efficient landscaping with low-maintenance native plants and decreased potable water consumption
- Following the indoor pollutant control plan, low-emitting materials were selected to maximize indoor air quality
- 100% wood material purchased from certified sources
KD Chapel in the News:
Xavier University has rental property throughout the campus and nearby neighborhoods that faculty and staff are able to rent. Ten of these homes are certified "Green Homes." The NAHB Research Center certifies that each house, as originally built, is in substantial conformance with the ICC 700- 2008 National Green Building Standard. The custom elements of these homes include high-performance windows, insulation, energy efficiencies, storm-water management and concrete parking for multiple vehicles.
After the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Xavier moved forward investigating and considering new designs, thus, a high priority was placed on construction facilities that would be more efficient than the pre-Katrina structures. Our findings led us to the National Association of Home Builders Research Center (NAHB), the nation’s leader in constructing energy-efficient green homes. Creating adequate faculty housing was essential to the survival of Xavier University; in order to bring the students back, we had to have faculty present and ready to instruct. By involving FEMA and GOHSEP in our decision-making process to add and renovate homes in 2011, it was decided that this would set a new standard for achieving energy-efficient and green build projects as we partake in the massive reconstruction process.
Upon conclusion of the construction, Xavier erected ten (10) structures in the State of Louisiana to meet the Gold Level for Green Homes. Prior to this, there were no Gold Level homes in Louisiana, but with our joint partnership with FEMA and GOHSEP, we owned the first ten (10) and were certified by NAHB. We applaud GOHSEP and FEMA for working hand in hand with us, thinking outside the existing box, to achieve the desired outcome.
