Energy Efficiency
- 92% of the building has access to natural light.
- All building lighting is dual switched (to allow two light levels) and common areas are on light level sensors which dim the lighting levels based on the amount of natural light available. On a sunny day the common area lights will be on a very low setting thereby saving energy.
- Motion sensors in offices, breakout rooms, work rooms, and conference rooms turn off lights when rooms are not in use.
- All Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) motors have Variable Frequency Drives and are optimally operated (strategies like optimal start, supply-air-temperature reset, and ventilation optimization) resulting in a reduced HVAC energy use of about 15-30 percent.
- The chiller plant serving Lucas Hall and Arts & Sciences is 10 percent more energy efficient than 2 separate chiller plants.
- Hydronic systems circulate hot water through warming baseboards, radiators and/or radiant tubing in your floors or ceilings. Lucas' system has variable speed, which requires 40 percent less horsepower than a conventional Hydronics system - very efficient!
- Low nitrous oxide boiler emits less carbon monoxide and is 10 percent more energy efficient than a conventional boiler.
- Operable windows are equipped with sensors to shut off air conditioning to that space when open.
- “Low-e glass” windows reduce heat energy from the sun without reducing light.
- As a result of these features, Lucas Hall will be approximately 13 percent more energy efficient than Title 24, California’s standards for energy efficiency.
Water Conservation
- Twelve Falcon Waterfree urinals each conserve about 40,000 gallons per year.
- Landscape is irrigated with reclaimed water.
Air Quality
- All paints and adhesives have low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC).
- All cabinet substrates are low VOC and formaldehyde free
Waste Reduction
- 35,083 square feet of the building is carpeted with carpet tiles. These enable easy replacement of stained tiles, rather than removal of an entire section of carpeting.
- Recycling bins throughout the building collect plastics #1-7, glass,
aluminum, tin, mixed paper, and cardboard. Faculty and staff can recycle
electronic waste, batteries, and ink cartridges by sending small items to
Facilities or requesting a pick-up of large items.
Furniture
- All chairs in the Executive MBA classroom are “Think Chairs” the world’s first ever Cradle to Cradle certified product. This chair is 97% recyclable and disassembles in 5 minutes.
- Classroom and collaborative room chairs are 98% recyclable and disassemble in 5 minutes.
- Steelcase and their subsidiary companies are industry leaders in sustainable
manufacturing practices and environmental responsibility. The company set
a goal to reduce its environmental footprint by 25% by 2012.
Custodial
- Only Green Seal approved chemicals will be used to clean the building.
- Bathrooms: toilet paper, paper towels, seat covers are composed of recycled content; hand soap is “green”.
Construction and Demolition
- Two houses on building site were relocated (rather than demolished). The two-story 1930’s house is now part of the new Jesuit Community living complex, and the historic craftsman house was restored to its original configuration and serves as the Jesuit Community guest house.
- Two Canary Island palm trees at the building entrances were temporarily relocated during construction. The building entrances were designed to incorporate these trees.
- Extensive pre-construction archaeological mitigation encompassing several phases including survey, excavation and recovery, documentation, and specialized studies of the site to protect historical artifacts and features from the Native American and mission eras. This resulted in the identification and protection of original Mission era foundation walls and a mission neophyte dwelling (the only one of its kind ever to be documented in California), as well as numerous other features from the Spanish Colonial and American eras.
Waste Reduction
- Filtered water filling stations will be provided on each floor. Studies show that one-time use water bottle consumption decreases when people are given the opportunity to refill their reusable containers.
- Coffee tumblers will be given to every faculty, staff, and incoming student in the Business School to encourage waste reduction.