Last year's Ball State University Strategic Plan placed a special emphasis on environmental sustainability during all campus construction efforts. As a result, school architects are cutting corners - in most cases, literally - in order to keep ongoing projects as "green" as possible.
For example, trees surrounding the future location of North Hall will be converted into wall and door trim for the new state-of-the-art residence hall, just one of many recycling efforts taking place to ensure minimal use of resources throughout campus.
"The trees that did have to be removed because they would have been damaged or were within the footprint of the building will be milled, trimmed and put back into the building," project architect Tanner Underwood said. "These are the trees that came from this site and ultimately will be the trim that will be put back into it."
Underwood said this particular example accounted for two points of the overall score required to meet new university sustainability standards.
The plan calls on all new construction on campus to seek United States Green Building Council certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The standard places a universal standard on how projects are developed from the ground up. The two most recently debuted buildings on campus - the David Letterman Communication and Media Building and Park Residence Hall - were both LEED-certified.
Similar salvaging efforts have been incorporated during the reconstruction of DeHority Complex, where workers are separating old masonry and metal for recycling. Underwood said this further contributed to a satisfactory LEED rating and that the industry was long overdue for such uniform standards.
"For the most part [the LEED requirements are] how we should be designing anyway, but it puts a rating system on it and shows the university is committed to designing sustainably," Underwood said.
Campus Recreation and Wellness CenterLEED standards have not been the only factor taken into account during the first phase of construction on the new Recreation and Wellness Center. Project architect Greg Graham and Recreation Services Director Dan Byrnes scouted the Midwest to combine different components of multiple college recreation facilities.
"When President Gora asked for some background info on what other schools were doing - particularly the MAC schools we compare ourselves to a lot - I took Greg on some tours, and we looked at the design concept and programming to get a feel for what students are looking at in college campuses," Byrnes said.
Included in their findings was an indoor sports field in Ohio State University's wellness center, an idea Graham and Byrnes intend to have emulated in Ball State University's upgraded facility.
"Ultimately, you'll be able to play anything that you'd be able to play on grass but inside," Graham said, adding the turf would be comparable to what students saw at the football stadium. "So during the winter, if you wanted to play soccer or any type of field sport when it's 20 below, you could still do that."
The first phase efforts will cost roughly $5 million, Graham said, before efforts begin at the beginning of 2009 on the $25 million renovation on Irving Gym. Until then, however, he and Byrnes stressed the current facility would remain open despite any minor inconveniences as a result of construction. The final product is expected to open by Fall 2010.
Byrnes said the transitional phase during construction will be worth the frustration.
"It's not going to be fun or ideal," he said, "but people have to understand in 18 months we're going to have a great place to call home. It'll be an inconvenience - no doubt about that - but sometimes you have to suffer to move ahead a little bit."
Among the new features are an elevated indoor track, additional multipurpose rooms and gyms and an outdoor pursuits program, which is a center for students seeking guidance or assistance in planning an outdoor activity. For example, a climbing wall will be available for anyone seeking practice before scaling the Rocky Mountains. Also, tents, kayaks and canoes will be among various items available to rent for a weekend camping trip.
While this area might not be an ideal location for outdoor enthusiasts, Byrnes said this program would enlighten students to many of the open-air activities possible within Indiana and the Midwest. Overall, he said he was confident this would further separate Ball State from other universities when prospective students looked into campus wellness centers.
"This puts [Ball State] at another level," Byrnes said. "We're looking at the whole package. It's not just about academics anymore, and I think the university is striving to get to that point with some of the buildings going on [around campus]."
DeHority ComplexDemolition work is now complete on DeHority Complex, and efforts are now under way on rebuilding an improved lobby to connect the four wings of the building. Rather than the one-floor lounge that previously existed, Graham said there would be a four-story edition similar to Park Hall's design.
"Park Hall was really a success, and students just loved it; it booked up right away when it opened," Graham said. "What we're doing is taking the best of Park Hall for both DeHority and North Hall, and take lessons from that."
So far, that mindset appears to be paying off. The $20 million improvements will conclude by Fall 2009, and Graham said he expected the new lounge area to add to the community experience students expected from a residence hall.
"Originally, each lounge had its own way [where] you could come into one entry space and go into your own wing," Graham said. "Having four halls within the building, there was kind of a separation. One of the things we've done is try to increase the sense of community by bringing together the lounge."
North HallPreliminary work on the newest residence hall on campus began three weeks ago after more than three years of scrutinized planning. The $40 million project will be open for students to occupy by Fall 2010, but in the meantime efforts are under way to clear the location and grade the site.
Despite the building's high cost, Jim Lowe, director of engineering and operations, said the project estimate came in under budget - as well as all others currently under way. He said such a cushion would contribute to covering the costs of any unforeseen circumstances during the next two years.
Park Hall PondOn the north side of Park Hall, work has begun on a landscaping scenery that will include a new pond and miniature waterfall. Graham said he speculated the body of water would be approximately half the size of the duck pond on campus and that it would serve as the head of Cardinal Creek once construction was complete.
The $750,000 project would be completed in time for Fall Semester, and it would mark the final touch on the residence hall that opened last year.
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