Arizona State’s Sustainability Programs Get a Sustainable Building—From 1965

When Arizona State U. renovated its former nursing-school building to house sustainability programs, it added six small wind turbines on the roof. (Photo by Mark Boisclair)

Practicing the kind of sustainability it preaches, Arizona State University has renovated a 1965 building to house its Global Institute of Sustainability and School of Sustainability — and the project’s $6-million price tag even includes six small rooftop wind turbines that will take advantage of thermal updrafts to add power to the local electric grid. Still to be added on the roof is a 24-kilowatt solar array.

The renovation, by Lord, Aeck & Sargent and Gould Evans Associates, is expected to earn a silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Architects say the 48,806-square-foot building should consume 18.7 percent less electricity than it used to, and only half as much water. The building houses classrooms, conference rooms, faculty offices, and open areas for student interaction.

Jonathan Fink, director of the sustainability institute, said the biggest challenge was “to change the look and feel of the space,” which he said had been as depressing as a hospital ward—or a chicken coop.

Removing some windowless offices helped to create a brighter and more open interior on upper floors, where some exterior brick was replaced with glass to let more daylight in. On two floors balconies replaced brick walls and will serve as social space, cooled by trellises on which vines will grow.