MacDonald Commons Earns Bucknell University its First LEED Gold Building

LEWISBURG, Pa. — As schools and universities are realizing the benefits of “green” building on campus, the first LEED Gold building on Bucknell University made its debut last year. Although the building opened in time for the fall 2015 semester, it just recently received formal LEED Gold recognition this year. The 14,100-square-foot MacDonald Commons Building was completed by Northumberland, Pa.-based general contractor Zartman Construction and the Boston office of EYP Architecture/Engineering PC as well as Mid-Penn Engineering Corporation, based in Lewisburg.

During construction on MacDonald Commons, more than 70 percent of the lumber used was sourced from sustainably-managed forests and were processed, manufactured and sold only by companies that met the Forest Stewardship Council’s principles and criteria.

There are a variety of standards that a building must meet in order to qualify for LEED Gold certification. A few of those standards that Zartman Construction managed included using regional, recycled materials and to recycle as much construction waste as possible. Other sustainable features implemented during the design and construction include:
• Utilizing reduced vehicle emission spaces
• Using regional materials (recovered or manufactured within 500 miles of the site)
• High-energy performance, using only green power
• Concrete hardscaping to reduce heat island effect
• Making the building smoke-free
• Using sustainable wood and low VOC emitting materials
• Installing occupancy sensors to reduce energy use
• Include exterior views and daylighting

“Obtaining any LEED certification demonstrates Bucknell’s commitment to sustainability and minimizing our impact on the environment," said Mike Patterson, Bucknell’s executive director for facilities, in a university statement. “While we already do many of these things as part of our planning and design process, having a rigorous review and certification process provides a definitive indication of that commitment.”

The MacDonald Commons Building will act as a community-like facility for students to gather, dine, connect, study, host events, relax and socialize. In addition to the commons building, the university also recently became LEED Gold-certified for its new on-campus housing, South Campus Apartments.

The $165 million South Campus Apartments are located directly near the commons building for easy access to all the amenities the building has to offer. The 165,000-square-foot on-campus housing complex includes rooms with four single bedrooms large enough to accommodate several bed and furniture arrangements; a full kitchen with bar-height island seating illuminated by drop lights; a full-size refrigerator and an electric range with space for a microwave above; and a living room area featuring a couch and two chairs. The air-conditioned rooms offer ceiling heights between 10 and 12 feet, and many feature bay windows offering panoramic views outside. The ADA-compliant bathrooms in each apartment are divided into separate toilet and shower areas with locking doors and an open vanity area with two sinks, allowing up to four residents to use the space simultaneously.

“We took a very intentional, student-centered approach, in which the buildings were designed by students and will be operated by them,” said Amy Badal, dean of students at Bucknell, in a statement. “A group of students met with the architects and shared their vision for what should be housed in these buildings, and the architects did a great job of reflecting that vision.”

The university intends to keep up with its sustainable building practices and has launched an initiative called WE DO, The Campaign for Bucknell University, which hopes to raise $500 million towards residential learning. The campaign is the largest initiative in university history.