Project Description
The Greer Environmental Sciences Center is a 44,000 SF state-of-the-art academic facility that serves as the cornerstone of the University’s growing environmental sciences programs. The building honors former President William T. “Billy” Greer’s long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability and advocacy for a thriving science program at Virginia Wesleyan University.
This LEED Gold building features a 50-person tiered lecture room, two 36-person active learning classrooms, two 20-person seminar rooms, ten teaching labs, many shared learning spaces, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) classroom. Formal and informal group study spaces are located throughout the building. These classrooms and common spaces are accessible to non-science majors and provide opportunities for all students to develop a closer connection to the sciences.
Organized thematically around the earth’s four spheres – atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere – the Greer Environmental Sciences Center features sophisticated indoor and outdoor learning spaces that embody “science on display” and promote hands-on experiences, interactive learning, and interdisciplinary research. The facility features a geothermal system for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, an array of photovoltaic (PV) panels, and a small-scale demonstration wind turbine. An extensive green roof, vegetated bioretention basins, and constructed wetlands serve innovative project-based curriculum while also treating stormwater runoff on-site.
This Greer Center provides unprecedented opportunities for students while fostering regional collaboration with organizations such as the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and the Virginia Institute for Marine Science (VIMS).