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Everyday green
November/December 2007
by Mark Alden Branch ’86

Yale is showing off its greenness in high-profile new buildings like the environment school’s Kroon Hall (see "Building for Keeps"). But much of Yale’s construction work every year consists of dozens of small-scale renovation and remodeling projects, with far more modest budgets. Can ordinary be environmental? Yes, says Julie Newman, Yale’s new director of sustainability, who is charged with promoting economically and environmentally sound practices throughout the campus.

For the facilities department, the sustainability office is a tryout for a greener approach.

When the Office of Sustainability got its own space this year above Clark’s Pizza, Newman and architect David Thompson '85MArch set out to make it a model for a workaday approach to sustainability. "Instead of doing a unique, one-time exercise, we said 'Let's do it with a budget and timetable typical of campus projects like this, with our typical family of contractors,'" says Thompson.

The first step was getting Frank Ferraiolo on board. Ferraiolo is one of four people in the facilities department who oversee small-scale (usually $200,000 or under) renovations. For his department, the sustainability office would be a tryout for a greener approach.

"The difference between this project and any other project is in the materials that were used and in the way the project was run in regard to demolition," he says. Instead of putting all the demolition and construction waste in one dumpster, the materials were segregated for recycling—a practice common in new construction at Yale but new in renovations at this scale.

As for materials, Thompson specif ied forest-certified maple (which comes from well-managed forests), cork, and, for surface finishes, bamboo. Environmentalists are divided on bamboo, but, says Newman, "I was in favor of using something controversial because it opens the conversation." Instead of the typical carpeted floor, the team chose pine flooring salvaged from an old mill building; it cost more than carpet, but will last much longer.

“I was in favor of using something controversial because it opens the conversation.”

To reduce energy costs, Thompson brought in as much natural light as possible. The budget did not permit conventional skylights (and the air-handling units on the roof ruled them out anyway), so Thompson used a series of four stainless steel "light tubes"—just $1,000 apiece installed—to let extra daylight into the central space.

Ferraiolo says he’ll be applying lessons from the project to some upcoming renovations as his office gets more comfortable with greener materials. While he hasn’t tallied the final costs, he thinks it was only slightly more expensive than a typical project of its scope.

As for Newman, her greatest enthusiasm is reserved for the open layout, which she sees as conducive to the kind of collaboration she wants to see in her office. "I love the space," she says. "It just begs for personal interaction.”