November 17, 2008
Wilson Community College To Build Green Student Center
Wilson Community College, Wilson, NC, plans to break ground on a new Student Center in 2007 that is designed using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards established by the U. S. Green Building Council. LEED certification at the gold level is targeted for the building.
The approximately 20,000 square foot building will house student services including the registration center, financial aid, guidance counselors, and a testing center, as well as the business office and a student commons area.
A most important aspect of this new building will be its use as a living laboratory. Students in a variety of college programs will learn about green buildings and will have opportunities to help install and work with the many new technologies that will be utilized in the Student Center. In addition, community based continuing education programs and visitors to the campus will see demonstrations of how these technologies can effectively be used in all homes, businesses, and industries.
The Student Center has been designed by the Raleigh based architectural firm Williard Ferm Architects, that has recently completed work on the new N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Administrative Headquarters and Centennial Campus Wildlife Education Center.
The new Student Center incorporates many features that will drastically reduce energy consumption. These features include using natural light for building illumination, photovoltaic cells, solar collectors for producing building heat and hot water, geothermal ground source air conditioning, and automatically operable windows linked to a computerized climate control system.
Studies have proven that the savings of a green building such as the one designed for the Wilson Community College campus should pay for themselves ten times during the life of the building. In building this new green Student Center, the Community College is working to satisfy the triple bottom line that many businesses strive for today: financial savings, energy conservation, and social responsibility.
Tish Scott, Director of Public Relations
Wilson Community College November 2006
