Turning Green to Gold

Opening of the Abromson Community Education Center

With the opening of the Joel and Linda Abromson Community Education Center in just a few short weeks, USM Building Construction Engineer John Rasmussen, a U.S. Green Building Council LEED accredited professional, is hoping to turn green to gold. As project manager on the construction of the new facility, Rasmussen hopes USM will earn Gold LEED Certification for its green design of the building that will soon become one of USM's most public spaces. Once achieved, the prestigious designation will symbolize USM's commitment to sustainability and the creation of a healthier community for learning, working and living.

The Abromson Community Education Center is a 33,000-square-foot facility honoring the late Senator Joel Abromson and his wife Linda's commitment to educational opportunities for all citizens of Maine. When finished, the building will house offices in USM's Division of Community and Professional Education (CPE), including the Center for Continuing Education (CCE), Department of Conferences and the Institute for Family-Owned Businesses.

For the more than 84,000 students and visitors who participate in non-credit courses and outreach programs offered by this division each year, Abromson Center's 512-seat Hannaford Lecture Hall and tech-ready breakout rooms will offer healthy, state-of-the-art facilities in which to meet and learn. With the attached 1,200-car parking garage and Alumni Skywalk, installed for safe pedestrian passage across Bedford Street, the $25-million facility is sure to offer an ease of accessibility and a conduit to the Portland campus community for students and visitors of all ages.

In addition to the many accessibility features, what also is evident throughout the building is Boston-based architectural firm Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott's incorporation of green design features.

Green buildings are designed to be healthier for building occupants, construction workers and the greater community. Successful green buildings reduce the negative impacts associated with building construction and use. Building to such criteria is not something new to USM, a signatory of The Talloires Declaration and member of the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future. In fact, hints of “green” can be seen all over USM's campuses, from the use of energy-efficient lighting in USM's newer classrooms to the solar-heated water running through the showers of Sullivan Gym for the last decade. But green building is not only about conservation efforts. It's also about employing conscientious design and construction strategies such as purchasing renewable energy, recyclable building materials that provide exceptional durability, and energy efficiency and locally available goods and services to conserve energy required to travel to the job site and boost local economy.

Green design also serves as the foundation for the U.S Green Building Council LEED Certification program. Under the program, the number of green design elements utilized in a space determines the level that space can be LEED certified (basic, silver, gold or platinum). Rasmussen says that while he's certain the Abromson Center will achieve Silver LEED certification, it will be just a few more months before the final determination between Silver and Gold is made. This month USM received LEED Certification on the John Mitchell Center in Gorham, following its recent addition of the Advanced Technology Wing. The Mitchell Center, designed by Harriman Associates of Auburn, is one of the first LEED Certified buildings in Maine. The Abromson Center may become the first LEED Gold Certified building in Maine.

Green materials found in the Abromson Center include recycled sheet rock, native maple wood paneling, locally manufactured bricks, and recyclable carpeting made with recycled materials. The greenest feature of the Abromson Center is invisible, but it helps protect our air quality every time electricity is used in the building. At least for the first two years, most of the power used by the building will not be the result of burning fossil fuels. USM bought “wind generated electricity” in the form of “green tags” to run the facility.

Building occupants will appreciate the use of natural lighting, even in the innermost places. To maximize daylight, bigger windows with light shelves placed deep inside were added. The shelves reflect entering light onto the ceiling and deeper into the interior space. So, natural light travels deep inside the space, not just into the perimeter offices.“Natural light translates to a more pleasant indoor environment for the people who work and visit there,” says Rasmussen. “Natural light also translates to a healthier environment.”

Thanks to an anonymous donor, USM also will bring daylight into the Abromson Center in a more indirect way. Solar-electric generating panels to be installed on the roof will help power the house lights in Hannaford Lecture Hall.

Another sustainable design feature of the Abromson Center is the geothermal space conditioning system that will be used to heat and cool the building. The system uses a water loop and heat pumps to transfer energy between the building and the ground to regulate indoor temperatures without the help of fossil fuels. Additional heating, ventilating, and air conditioning features along with the geo-thermal heat pumps include a displacement ventilation system in the Hannaford Lecture Hall, radiant floor heat, and variable air volume distribution in the remainder of the building. Another byproduct of the geothermal wells is that excess water from the system bleed water, along with storm water, will be used to flush the facility's toilets, thus minimizing the use of potable water and helping to reduce storm water runoff into the city's storm system.

The cost of the entire complex—approximately $25 million—will be paid through a combination of a 2001 state bond, campus fees and private and federal funds. And while construction costs have run slightly higher than first estimates, the expenditure is worth every penny, says Rasmussen. Despite higher first costs, the investments the University has made in materials and services following the principles of green design toward LEED certification will result in lower operating and maintenance costs over time, he says. Bottom line, USM is looking at payback of its expenditures in less than 10 years, adds Rasmussen.

—Dudley Greeley, USM environmental and economic sustainability coordinator, and Dave Early, USM executive director, Facilities Management, contributed to this article.

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