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The Mac Weekly - April 8, 2005
Green Building Committee Formed to Oversee Athletic Facility Planning
By Rebecca DeJarlais, Sports Editor
As the college’s plan for its new athletic facility gains momentum, dialogue about the issue has broadened to include the Building and Grounds Committee and a new committee focused on the environmental aspects of the new Fieldhouse.
Some concerned students, staff, and faculty recently formed the Green Building Advisory Committee (GBAC), in a unique effort to ensure that the building process is as sustainable as possible.
"I’d say it’s an unusual thing,” said Erik Kocher of Hastings and Chivetta, the St. Louis architectural firm hired for the project. “We work with building committees but not one specifically for environmental issues."
Director of Facilities Management Mark Dickinson chairs the committee. Vice President for Administration David Wheaton, Mechanical Systems Manager Kevin Maynard, and Director of High Winds Tom Welna, as well as faculty representative Martin Gunderson, sit on the committee. The GBAC also includes students Richard Graves ’06 and Kristin Pollock ’07, alumni representative Michael Krause and green building architect David Eijadi.
"Principles like emphasizing wellness in a gym, by bringing in sunlight and eliminating harmful airborne pollution and bringing in fresh air, or reducing our negative international impact by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, can inform our design process and create a building that embodies our values," Graves said.
Pollock said she is confident in Macalester’s commitment to environmentally-sustainable projects.
"My goal is to make this fieldhouse as green of a building as is feasible for Macalester," she said. "I hope to show that the administration and funders that even if the building’s initial costs are high, the savings in operations costs make up for it."
More specifically, the committee hopes to cut costs by looking at the building’s electricity use, heating and cooling loads and water use, according to Krause, who is the executive director of the Green Institute.
Krause said another objective is to "reduce the environmental footprint" of the project by examining the type of materials being used.
"The college has been very supportive, and these are difficult things to do because they’re different," he said. "The closer you get to breaking ground, the harder it gets. By having really good people on the committee, it demonstrates to me that it’s not just for show."
The project was conceived as part of the college’s 1994 Master Plan, which included building the Campus Center and renovating Kagin Commons.
Before former Macalester president Mike McPherson left the college, he asked psychology professor Jack Rossman to chair a task force for the new athletic facility. Rossman, who has observed and participated in the transition period, praised president Brian Rosenberg for his support.
"Out of the task force came a conceptual design, and that report was waiting on his desk when he came in 2003," Rossman said. "Literally before he’d arrived, he responded. He has been a wonderful advocate and really kept things moving along."
The new building is expected to cost about $25 million, which the college will raise in a capital campaign outside its budget this summer. The Fieldhouse space will be significantly larger, and the design includes a 200-meter indoor track, tennis courts and more areas for both fitness and relaxation.
Athletic Director Irv Cross has advocated a space that encourages health and wellness in addition to varsity sports.
"Fitness is not how fast you run or how high you jump," Cross said. "This building will be flexible enough to accommodate the needs of all people."
The Building and Grounds committee viewed the existing design for the new Fieldhouse last month, setting up the plan for approval at the board of trustees’ May or October meeting.
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