Chatham University Eden Hall Campus

Project Details

Project Description

From the AIA:
After receiving the donation of 388-acre Eden Hall Farm north of Pittsburgh, Chatham University conceived an audacious goal to create the world’s first net-positive campus.Home of the Falk School of Sustainability, Eden Hall Campus generates more energy than it uses, is a water resource, produces food, recycles nutrients, and supports habitat and healthy soils while developing the next generation of environmental stewards. Linked buildings, landscapes and infrastructure support an active and experiential research environment. New building forms, outdoor gathering spaces and integrated artwork complement and interpret natural site systems, while making cutting-edge sustainable strategies transparent and explicit.

2017 AIA COTE Top Ten Jury Comments:
Exemplary in its integrated water management and treatment systems, this project is an ambitious vision for a new sustainable campus. The design established aggressive energy thresholds for each of the buildings and integrated sustainable principles into a way of campus life. All wastewater is filtered onsite in wetlands via treatment systems that also offer research and learning opportunities. All campus facilities, including plant buildings, are designed for use as classrooms. Both the spaces between buildings and the structures are put into service, fulfilling the mission of the curriculum for an education founded on sustainable principles and environmental stewardship.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Predicted lighting power density (watts per square-foot): 0.72 watts/sq.ft.
Actual Consumed Energy Use Intensity (Site EUI): 91
Estimated carbon emissions: 1017 metric tons
Percentage (by weight) of construction waste diverted from landfill: 75%
Percent reduction from National Average EUI for Building Type: 75.8%
Percentage of water consumed onsite from rainwater capture: 39%