Green design scores points on economics, esthetics

Developers are accustomed to talking about the premium they're willing to pay commonly, 10 percent or so to earn LEED certification for projects built with green-construction practices.

The Marguerite Wattis Peterson Foundation Athletic Academic Center that's beginning to take shape at the University of Nevada, Reno, is expected to attain LEED silver status and its construction costs are project to be 15 percent below the budget.

The building will be the first on the UNR campus to achieve the green-construction designation under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. Its design reflects ways that sophisticated software can cut the buildings' energy use, says James Mickey, the senior architect with WorthGroup Architects who designed the building.

During preliminary design, he says WorthGroup created a three-dimensional computer model of the building that allowed them to study the effects of factors ranging from the angles of the sun on its exterior to the flow of heated air around its interior.

They learned, Mickey says, that modest reduction of the height of the building could cut at least 20 percent from energy costs.

PENTA Building Group of Reno is general contractor on the 8,300-square-foot building just outside the main entrance to Mackey Stadium.

The $8.2 million cost which includes everything from furniture to signage as well as the building itself is borne entirely by donors to the athletic department.

The building's location presented some headaches beyond its tight quarters as it's surrounded by other university facilities.

Mickey says preliminary studies turned up numerous aging utility lines on the site, and they'll be rebuilt during the construction.

But because the location is on a slight rise, the site also allowed WorthGroup to come up with about 1,000 square feet of storage for athletic equipment below the main floor.

"Having 1,000 square feet of storage is huge for them," Mickey says.

The site demanded an aesthetic approach that blends the classical architecture that WorthGroup has undertaken on other athletic facilities such as Legacy Hall and the Cashell Fieldhouse with the modern look of nearby buildings such as the new student center.

Mickey says he approached the building as a transition between the two styles and incorporates modern elements into a largely classical design.

Athletic department executives, he says, have been strongly supportive of a unified, noteworthy architectural feel to the facilities they use.

The new athletic academic center will include study lounges, computer labs, meeting rooms and administrative spaces.

Because the building also will be used for some public functions receptions before football games, for instance Mickey says the interior layout needed to clearly differentiate between public areas and those intended for the academic center for UNR athletes.