A view from the collaborative technology classroom toward Williams Hall
"Building in these sustainable features may add a few percentage points to the cost today, but we will quickly recoup the investment with a facility that's less costly to operate each year. And the investment will continue to yield returns for the life of the building."
-- Carl Sgrecci, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Once dismissed by some as a public relations strategy or a drain on profits, the concept of sustainability has risen to the forefront in the global business community. Business leaders and college campuses alike have come to realize that their future success depends on actions they take today. Sustainability has quickly become a strategic cornerstone that touches on all aspects of the marketplace, from product development to operations management to marketing.
The Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise at Ithaca College, designed by renowned firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects, brings sustainable principles to the heart of the business school itself. Even before the first beam was laid, architects, contractors, and interior designers worked to ensure that they had minimized waste, included local materials wherever possible, and utilized natural elements such as solar energy to the fullest extent.
The result is a structure that fosters community interaction, promotes environmental stewardship, and reduces overall operating and maintenance costs -- not to mention that it's a fivefold increase in space over the school's previous location in Smiddy Hall.
To ensure that the building adhered to best practices in design and construction, planners designed it to meet extremely strict standards prescribed by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
The most widely accepted benchmark for recognizing high-performance green buildings, the LEED system awards points based on a rigorous set of criteria that encompasses a half-dozen categories, such as indoor environmental quality, materials and resources, and water efficiency. Based on the number of credits earned on a 69-point scale, projects can be designated on one of four levels: "certified," "gold," "silver," or "platinum."
The Park Center has been explicitly designed to gain platinum-level status; formal certification is expected later this year. Less than 100 buildings in the world have earned this prestigious designation -- and Ithaca will be the first undergraduate business school to do so.
Numerous innovative features in the building's design and operation help reduce its overall carbon footprint. Its southward-facing orientation -- and magnificent glass-and-steel facade -- takes advantage of natural sunlight and prevailing winds, maximizing passive solar energy. Innovative landscaping, including a two-tiered vegetative garden roof with drought-resistant plants, captures rainwater for use in the building's circulation system. And the spectacular, four-story atrium allows sunlight to permeate nearly 98 percent of the interior space while giving students a comfortable area to congregate.
With its focus on these principles of sustainability, collaboration, and innovation, the building is truly a teaching tool that brings to life the lessons of sustainable practices delivered by the school's forward-looking curriculum.
Graduates will enter the international business community with the ability to shape its future using the unique sustainability-infused perspectives and skills they developed as students at Ithaca. One might say they'll be poised to take advantage of future careers that don't even exist today. The School of Business has literally broken new ground in preparing the leaders of tomorrow.