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UW-Fox Valley Communication Arts Center will be the first certified green-designed academic building in the UW System
The Communication Arts Center currently under construction on the UW-Fox Valley campus in Menasha was designed to meet the highest green building and performance measures for environmental sustainability. The building is slated to open for classes in fall 2009.
Photo by Dave Hager
It's visible from seven miles away as it majestically stands seven stories tall on the UW-Fox Valley campus in Menasha. The new Communication Arts Center (CAC) is expected to be the first academic building within the UW System that will earn LEED certification when it opens in time for fall semester 2009.
A green building
At 75 feet high, 144 feet wide and nearly 158 feet long, the 51,000-square-foot CAC was designed and is being built within the guidelines of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Site design and utilization, heat-recovery units, leading-edge air-handling and rigorous energy-management systems, efficient motors and lighting systems, and water-conservation systems are among the many design features included in the CAC so that the new building is energy wise and resource conservative.
"Even the wood used for portions of the CAC came from a certified and managed forest, per LEED guidelines," explains Jim Eagon, UW-Fox Valley assistant dean for administrative services and the campus liaison with the builder and architect.
Multiple financial contributors
The $14-million building is being funded through the support of Outagamie and Winnebago counties (each contributing $5.3 million) and the UW-Fox Valley Foundation, which has raised nearly $1.4 million of the $2 million it has pledged to contribute. The state of Wisconsin is slated to provide nearly $1.345 million for moveable equipment for the facility.
Providing educational resources, protecting natural resources
The CAC will include a 361-seat academic-grade theater, five classrooms, a 2,000-square-foot art gallery, five offices that include a box office and scene shop office, and an area suitable for outdoor activities. In accordance with LEED guidelines, the CAC is designed for rooftop gardens that will help manage storm water, while plants will add to local air quality. Additionally included is the upgrading and relocation of a 1-acre storm water detention pond and the planting of 74 trees around the building.
"The LEED site design even includes 17 designated prime parking spaces for alternative fuel vehicles," Eagon says.
For more information:
Dave Hager
Director of University Relations
UW-Fox Valley
(920) 832-2611
david.hager@uwc.edu
By Dave Hager, director, university relations, UW-Fox Valley