The Ehinger Center at Drew University in Madison, N.J., has received LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its energy-saving features.
The facility, which underwent a $12 million upgrade, is one of the most-used buildings on campus, the university says, with a student café, two lounge areas, a performance space, a pub, administrative offices, and other common areas.
The center reopened in 2012 after a year of work that added 3,000 square feet, a raised roofline, fireplaces, a two-story rotunda, a wall of windows looking out onto the campus and a barrel-vaulted ceiling.
The sustainable features that earned the building LEED certification include a heating and cooling system that uses 20 percent less energy than the previous one; automated shades over a large glass wall of windows that adjust throughout the day to reduce glare from the sun and maintain a comfortable temperature; an indoor composting station; pervious concrete pavers that enable rainwater to be reabsorbed; and waterless urinals in the men’s bathroom.
