Live/Learn Residence Hall Earns LEED Gold


WASHINGTON, DC — West Hall, a “live/learn” residence hall at George Washington University, was recently certified LEED Gold for its sustainable designs on the community-centered building.
 
The mixed-use facility “represents a dynamic change for the campus, incorporating a multitude of community functions and creating a sustainable village,” according to integrated architecture and engineering design firm EYP, which oversaw the project.
 
Features that earned the hall its certification include plumbing fixtures that use 50 percent less water, both native and adaptive plants aimed at eliminating the need for irrigation, low VOC paints and green carpets. The building has an exterior envelope designed for thermal efficiency that reduces the energy use by 20 to 30 percent, Energy Star appliances, reflective roofing to reduce heat island build-up, and daylighting and occupancy sensors are other energy-saving features.
 
The hall is located on the university’s Mount Vernon campus and has a maximum capacity of 287 students. Construction began in the summer of 2008 and was completed in the fall of 2010.
 
Each residential suite in the hall includes four single bedrooms with a shared living room and compartmentalized bathroom, two community facilitator units and a shared communal kitchen, floor study lounge, and laundry facilities.
 
The hall also features a full-service kitchen that can seat up to 189 residents and guests, a fitness center with locker rooms, student meeting rooms and a 150 seat black-box theater for student performance groups, among other amenities.
 
The new facility is the second GWU building to achieve LEED Certification and the first on its Mount Vernon campus.