Ryan Hall has received LEED Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The 74,000-square-foot women’s residence hall is located on Notre Dame’s West Quad near the Eck Center. The hall opened in the fall of 2009 and includes many sustainable design and construction features.
The total combined post- and pre-consumer recycled content materials used in the project was 31%. This includes content in the structural steel and rebar, concrete, metal studs, ceramic tile, VCT, insulation, door frames, drywall and ceiling tiles. 39% of all building materials were extracted and manufactured within 500 miles of campus. A total of 970 tons of construction waste were diverted from landfills to become recycled content for other building products, representing 76% of the total construction waste generated on the project.
91% of the spaces in the building have natural daylight and exterior views and the building is expected to use approximately 25% less energy than required by building codes. The project also included automatic lighting control and special lenses on the outdoor fixtures to considerably reduce light pollution.
Ryan Hall is located within a quarter-mile of two campus bus shuttles and one Transpo “Sweep” route express stop. All the carpet used on the project meets the requirements of the CRI Green Label Plus Program, and the building uses low flow urinals, faucets, shower heads, and dual-flush, low-flow toilets. In total, the water use for the building is 32% below what would be expected with standard fixtures.
Other LEED buildings at Notre Dame include Geddes Hall, Stinson-Remick Hall, and the Purcell Pavilion.
A previous version of this article was published at newsinfo.nd.edu on June 09, 2010.