Lane Community College - Academic

Lane's new Mary Spilde Downtown Center academic building opened in January 2013 and received LEED Platinum certification in 2014.

Building Facts

Total enclosed area is 91,818 square feet

Building is four stories high plus a rooftop enclosure for energy management students to view HVAC and solar features

Construction is reinforced, post-tensioned concrete and steel frame

Meets all current building and handicapped access codes including fire-sprinklers and earthquake resistant structure

Green/Sustainable Features

Geo-thermal wells. This is a ground source heating system. Pipe loops conduct water into and out of 55 wells under the buildings. Each well is 350 feet deep. The water is warmed by the wells and then is piped to heat exchangers to heat the building. Passive ventilation. The building is designed to take advantage of natural airflow and the natural property of concrete mass to warm up or cool down. Outside air enters and leaves the building through windows, roof-top openings and air shafts. In the process the concrete floor masses become cooler and discharge cool temperature to the surrounding air. Rainwater Harvesting. Two 10,000 gallon holding tanks (cisterns) are buried under the west courtyard. The rain that falls onto the roof is piped into the cisterns by gravity. The stored water is then pumped through other pipes to irrigate landscaped areas and used to flush toilets. Automated building control system. Low voltage electronic valves, pumps and sensors control the air temperature, ventilation and lighting in rooms. The system allows the temperature, ventilation and lights in each room to be controlled by preset programs. Building that teaches. One of the goals this building is designed to address is to instruct people about its sustainable and energy efficient features. This instruction is carried out by five displays: Emphasizing the solar-thermal array at the main entrance, a monitor screen in the main entry lobby that shows the current and long term use of energy and water in the building, a view of the Geo-well manifold under the floor, an above grade gauge that shows the level of rainwater in the cisterns and a green, vegetated, roof over the Center for Meeting and Learning. The green roof helps to slow rainwater runoff. acting as a sponge, absorbing rainwater and slowly releasing it, reducing the size of storm water systems while also filtering out impurities.