Pharmacy Hall Addition Earns Gold LEED Certification

“Green” building certification system gives points for meeting criteria regarding water and energy efficiency, use of sustainable materials, indoor environmental quality, and sustainable site usage.

By Christianna McCausland
April 15, 2011

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s new building has achieved a Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a ranking above the Silver certification required of all new state buildings.

“I am thrilled that our new Pharmacy Hall has earned a Gold ranking, making it one of the few education and research-intensive Gold buildings located in an urban area,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “Our new home is already proving to be an oasis on our campus because of our light filled atrium, large gathering spaces, and calming atmosphere. I’m proud that our design, construction, and management teams were able to produce a space that is not only beautiful but that also reduces its footprint through its numerous environmentally friendly features.”

Planning for the Addition began in the early 1990s, with an eventual price tag for design, construction, and equipping/furnishing of $85 million. As design progressed, in 2008, the state of Maryland mandated that all new buildings meet LEED “Silver” certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system that gives points to a structure based on the criteria it meets regarding water and energy efficiency, use of sustainable materials, indoor environmental quality, and sustainable site usage. Ranking ranges from “Certified” (the threshold qualification) up to “Platinum,” the highest level.

Even before the state’s mandate, the University’s Office of Facilities Management had incorporated energy efficiency and sustainable practices into their design and construction projects. The School of Pharmacy’s facilities management division followed their lead both for cost savings and to set an example for the campus.

The original Pharmacy Hall served its purpose, helping to propel the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy to its No. 9 ranking in the nation. Aside from overcrowded lecture halls, insufficient classroom space, a practice lab that was too small, and very limited space for gathering, it was and is undeniably functional on the upper floors where faculty and research labs are both located.

Yet it wasn’t particularly inviting. Corridors were over-lit with stark fluorescent light, there were few windows to bring natural light into the student spaces, and communal space for group study or for simply relaxing before or after class was limited. The building was also designed and built in an era when “green” was still a color, not a movement.

The new Pharmacy Hall Addition addresses these issues to create a space that is a pleasure to live and learn in while setting an example of sustainability in institutional design that sets it apart from most—if not all—others.

“We want to demonstrate that the environment is very important to us as an educational, research, and health care institution that shares space with area residents and businesses amid an urban setting,” says Pamela Crowe, School of Pharmacy director of facilities and laboratory services. “We want to show the students and families who live across the street that we are a part of the community and that we share responsibility for maintaining a healthy environment.”

The commitment to environmentalism started at the beginning of the project. “Dean Eddington set the environmental benchmark for this project, encouraging us to do everything that we possibly could do within the budget, and aim not only to achieve but exceed the state’s mandate,” Crowe recalls. “We didn’t just want to do the bare minimum to meet the basic criteria, we wanted to achieve as many LEED points as possible.”

During construction, waste was controlled and approximately 90 percent of materials were recycled and diverted away from landfills. A team consisting of architects from Richter, Cornbrooks, Gribble (RCG) and from Ellenzweig along with contractor Whiting-Turner and a host of consultants helped the project meet the first and most basic LEED criteria: recycling an existing site (a parking lot) into the foundation of the new structure.

“The credit for our success must first be given to Peter Schwab of RCG Architects, Ben Bogdanowicz and Ben Fry from Whiting-Turner, and our campus Facilities Management engineers and architects, led by Jeff Crabtree and Ron Brown, for all of their innovation, extra LEED hours, and dedication to this project,” says Crowe.

“Sustainable sites not only encourage building a project in an area that is an urban site—an area that’s already been taken out of its natural state—but that’s near public transportation and that encourages people to use bikes instead of cars,” says Schwab, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C, the project manager from RCG, the architect of record. There are now 34 secure bicycle posts at the building entrance and a shower and changing room for use by cyclists.

The original Pharmacy Hall is an indomitable masonry structure. In order to join it with a new, airy Addition without creating the appearance of two disparate structures stuck together, they are joined by a glass atrium transition space that floods the area with daylight, reducing the need for excessive light fixtures. By embracing the view across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the building creates a dialogue with Baltimore’s West Side neighborhoods that is rare on the city campus. Windows face the West Side as do outdoor seating areas enhanced by trellises blooming with native vines, establishing the School of Pharmacy as a place that is of the community and not simply in it.

Glass and light play a major role in the new building. Crabtree, the University project manager, explains the highest level of energy-efficient glass was used for thermal separation to ensure low loss of cooling in summer and heat in winter. “The heavy glass is also acoustically advantageous,” he adds, “because it cuts down on the noise of traffic.”

Natural light, which was lacking in the original Pharmacy Hall, is everywhere in the new design—even in the lecture halls—reducing the need for energy-sucking high-wattage lighting. A tremendous amount of thought went into lighting. The consultant even took the School of Pharmacy planning team, including Dean Eddington, on a tour of Baltimore landmarks utilizing energy-efficient systems.

Now a “daylight harvesting” system automatically responds by becoming dimmer or brighter depending on the existence of natural light. Also, all rooms are equipped with occupancy sensors and highly reflective, light colored floors and walls that reduce the need for bright lighting. In the office spaces alone, these innovations have cut back lighting expenses by 84 percent.

Light doesn’t only come from the sun. All new spaces are accented by bright, honey-toned, European steamed beech wood paneling that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which monitors for sustainable harvesting methods. Other materials in the building such as ceiling tiles, carpet, and even structural steel, have a high recycled content.

Some of the most unique innovations in the building are those that most visitors will never see. “The most interesting thing is the roof design,” explains Schwab. “It’s a white, liquid membrane applied on concrete that is capable of holding water indefinitely.” As rainwater collects on the white roof (that reflects sunlight away from the building reducing solar heat gain) it is slowly drained off the roof and moved through a passive filtration system. It removes 80 percent of solid waste and 40 percent of phosphorus, preventing harmful runoff into the Chesapeake Bay. Another silent saver is the advanced energy recovery system that captures “spent” energy in the building and re-uses it.

According to William Cooper, MBA, the School’s senior associate dean for administration and finance, building Pharmacy Hall Addition to LEED “Gold” standards wasn’t just the right thing to do because it meets the state’s mandate. “We wanted to be a leader,” he says.

As a unique entity on campus, the building also plays an important role in educating students and the wider community by its example. Signage in the building explains the LEED criteria met by the building such as the lighting design, low flow toilets, and water-efficient landscaping. “Universities, especially professional schools, are where the people who are successful will be educated and where they will get behind these goals and take it with them,” says Schwab.

The fact that the building is not only an academic one but also a place of research made meeting some of the LEED criteria impossible and others extremely challenging. Crowe points by way of example to the overwhelming amount of time applied to determining an environmentally sound means of venting a building that conducts chemistry experiments without damaging the building’s energy efficiency, all while staying within the parameters of a strict budget.

“We’re setting the bar for a publicly funded research and academic building,” she says. “We’re setting the bar not just on campus, but in the city and nationally.”