Building a Sustainable University Community
College campuses have inherent sustainable qualities. Students live near classrooms and social activities, personal automobile use is lower than in the general population, energy consumption is considered from an area-wide perspective, mass transit and recycling are encouraged, and organized growth and master planning are carefully considered. Because of these qualities, colleges and universities have emerged as leaders in the implementation of sustainable design. Brandeis University views its commitment to sustainable design as fundamentally linked to its larger commitment to social action, a natural and necessary extension in a world of shared and limited resources.
The Irving Schneider and Family Building, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management
The building was located to create a new face to existing and underutilized, but beautiful campus wetlands to create a real, as well as symbolic, connection to the natural environment.
Large windows provide views, fresh air, and natural light to the occupants. Skylights and double-height spaces deliver natural light to the center of the building. The contributes to a healthy working environment and reduces the need for artificial light and the associated heat gain and energy consumption.
Materials were selected for their durability, renewability, and low toxicity. These included a brick exterior, bamboo flooring, green label carpets, low VOC paints and non-fired stone tile. The majority of the structural steel in the building is recycled material and construction debris was collected and sorted off-site into recyclable components.
The site of the new Irving Schneider and Family Building was previously an impermeable, asphalt parking lot. The new building has a smaller footprint than the former parking-lot, creating additional permeable surface and reducing run-off. The run-off that remains is captured in newly installed storm water re-charging basins that hold water and release it back to the ground gradually.
The new landscape utilizes over twenty native plant species and more than fifty new canopy trees were planted without the use of water for irrigation. A portion of the landscaped open space has been designed as a "rough" lawn that can endure a range of weather conditions.
Energy loads are reduced through the use of daylight via an efficient envelope design including windows and walls, a reflective white roof, natural ventilation, variable speed drives on mechanical equipment, and control of artificial light. The building and windows are placed to take advantage of southern exposure and deciduous trees, shading the summer sun and capturing the winter sun. For more about sustainable design and the Irving Schneider and Family Building, click here.
Our Campus: Brandeis University
Brandeis University is a private, coeducational institution of higher learning and research. Named for the late Justice Louis Brandeis of the United States Supreme Court, the University combines the faculty and resources of a world-class research institution with the intimacy and personal attention of a small college.
The park-like campus is home to over 3,000 undergraduates and 1,500 graduate students in three graduate schools. Students have access to a one-million volume library, an outstanding sports complex, and a fine arts theater where plays and concerts are performed.
Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston, Brandeis University is part of a metropolitan area that includes educational institutions, museums, theaters, and other attractions of the city. Students are able to travel easily into Cambridge or Boston via either the Commuter Train or public bus, both of which stop within steps of the campus.
Boston is the hub of higher learning in America, with more than 300,000 college students calling the city home. A thriving college town such as Boston means that, in addition to utilizing Brandeis's own resources, it's possible to establish ties with faculty and graduate students at a number of other universities in the area and access the extraordinary number of lectures, workshops, and seminars that occur throughout the area.
