Drawing, Painting & Photography Building Update

Construction of the Drawing, Painting, and Photography building (DPP) and adjacent Student Thesis Studio is well underway and slated for completion in October 2009. The two-story DPP building is 14,941 square feet and includes 6,240 square feet of drawing and painting studios. The floor dedicated to photography features 5,645 square feet of studio space as well as five film developing stations and three darkrooms. Expandable classrooms capable of holding up to 200 people provides much needed space for lectures and an alternate location for Art Adventures children’s programs during inclement weather.

We appreciate our beautiful campus setting and are on track to achieve LEED silver certification with our building project. Sustainable design has been a critical criterion in the development of the DPP studio and Thesis buildings. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.

LEED is a voluntary third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Building commissioning is an essential step in the design and construction quality assurance process. For any project to be certified, LEED requires basing commissioning procedures. The College has retained Interface Engineering to provide commissioning services. Being LEED commissioned validates the LEED scorecard and assures the building operation is in accordance with design.

LEED Performance criteria developed by the US Green Building Council:
• Improve the energy efficiency of the buildings and limit their environmental impact. • LEED Green Building Rating System is voluntary. • LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in 5 key areas:

Sustainable Site Development • Water quality will be provided using storm filter cartridges • Storm water runoff will be collected in a retention pond to minimize storm water leaving the site after development • Climate tolerant plantings to minimize amount of irrigation

Water Savings • High efficiency plumbing fixtures

Energy Efficiency • Thermally-broken windows • Improved exterior insulation and building materials • High efficiency mechanical system using Variable Volume Refrigerant system

Materials Selection • Construction waste will be recycled • Specifying materials with recycled content throughout the project • Materials sourced from local manufactures (within 500 miles) wherever possible. • FSC-certified wood and wood products have been specified.

Indoor Environmental Quality • Design Team has specifies sealants, paints and composite wood products that reduce indoor air contamination • Maximizing daylight to interior spaces • Light controls in each room and operable windows for natural ventilation.