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Pi Beta Phi Builds LEED-Certified Greek-Letter
Organization House
Incorporating Green Features
A case study contributed by CxGBS®
When the Mississippi Gamma Chapter of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women planned the design for its chapter house, incorporating sustainable practices was a top criteria for achievement. Pi Beta Phi had previously committed to be a green building leader among Greek-letter organizations for all its new facilities.
The house for its newest chapter (Mississippi State University; founded 2009) would serve as a model for the Greek-letter community and showcase the organization's commitment to promote ethical behavior and strong leadership. The project would also be the first chapter house to be built by Fraternity Housing Corp (FHC), a support organization established by Pi Beta Phi in 2008. FHC provides a wide range of assistance, including construction management, for the women's fraternity. |
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Exterior woodwork for Pi Beta Phi is cypress, a material that is both historically traditional and grown sustainably nearby.
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According to Leah FitzGerald, a board member of FHC, Pi Beta Phi adopted its green stance not only because it was "the right thing for the environment," but because it wanted to offer greater support for the values of modern students, 69% of which (per a Princeton Review survey) consider environmental practices when deciding which institution to attend.
Leading with LEED
To provide third-party confirmation of Pi Beta Phi's achievement and underscore its commitment to its members and the world, the chapter and FHC chose to attempt LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. "When we had our groundbreaking and announced this would be a green building, the entire chapter was overjoyed," says FitzGerald. "Although some didn’t understand LEED at the time, but they knew it meant sustainable and green."
Resident’s bedrooms were equipped with compact, ductless HVAC systems to increase energy efficiency and enable individual climate controled.
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One of the core requirements of attaining LEED certification at any level is fundamental (construction phase) commissioning. With the property owner far away, Pi Beta Phi also wanted to engage, third-party supervision. Nationally recognized green-building and commissioning experts CxGBS® had experience with other projects at Mississippi State University, and FitzGerald was confident the firm would provide the level of quality and oversight the project required.
"CxGBS has an incredible reputation, and we had an owner that was a million miles away with no third-party inspection. We felt it was important to have another set of eyes and ears on the job, and we knew CxGBS would be vital to that process."
For all HVAC, plumbing and lighting systems, CxGBS would review submittals from contractors to ensure they met the design specifications and minimum requirements for LEED certification, monitor installation and run performance tests to confirm proper operation prior to project release.
Today, the Pi Beta Phi house has become the first LEED-certified building on the MSU campus and the first sorority house in the nation to attain LEED certification for new construction. |
Attaining LEED
The selected architect for the project, Pryor and Morrow Architects of Columbus, Mississippi, incorporated a wide variety of LEED-compliant approaches. Many were chosen for their ability not only to reduce waste and consumption during construction but also to improve quality of life and occupant comfort for house residents over the long term. Energy efficient and/or sustainable solutions implemented for the construction or operation of the new house include:
Site Selection: Phi Beta Phi chose an on-campus site for the house that is close to public transportation. The sorority encourages use of alternative transportation for its members, including both bike and bus transport.
Construction Phase: Construction waste was recycled to the greatest extent possible and all non-recyclable waste was disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. No smoking was allowed during construction, and the project used only low-VOC paints, adhesives and flooring.
Exterior Features: All construction materials came from within a 200-mile radius. Brick for the exterior and concrete was sourced in Columbus, MS. Exterior woodwork is cypress, not only a historically traditional material but also one grown sustainably in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Exterior treatment measures included maximizing open space, planting indigenous, drought and heat-tolerant landscaping, and providing parking for fuel efficient cars and sheltered bicycle storage. Additional insulation and window glazing were incorporated to optimize energy performance.
Building Systems: Plumbing systems include water-use reduction features such as low-flow toilets. Motion-activated, controlled lighting systems were installed, in which compact fluorescent bulbs are used to supplement the abundant natural lighting.
Even though the common areas operate with a standard ducted HVAC system, the building uses independent, ductless, high-SEER, CFC-free HVAC systems to heat and cool all living quarters and bathrooms. Outdoor condensers are located adjacent to the units and not far away on the roof. Not only does this eliminate the need to fully cool and heat common areas of the house during low-use periods, but since cooled air does not need to travel long distances before reaching its destination, the need for over-cooling has been eliminated.
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Low-VOC paints, flooring and adhesives were used throughout the building. Abundant natural lighting helps illuminates the common areas
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Resident Programs: The chapter provides recycling stations within the building and encourages residents to use them. The chapter also educates residents on the use of green cleaning products and uses recycled toilet paper and paper towels.
A New Chapter
The newly constructed Pi Phi House offers 20 bedrooms and houses 40 chapter members, including the chapter president and the house director. The house has a painted brick exterior with generous porches to facilitate outdoor relaxation. Inside are dining and study halls, as well as a formal living room, library, study rooms and TV lounges.
The façade and architectural style of the house are also in keeping with nearby buildings on the campus. "We needed to blend with the surrounding architecture and be part of the fabric of the community and campus," says FitzGerald.
Pi Beta Phi held its first recruitment in August, and FitzGerald reports the response was overwhelming. She also says that although building green has its intrinsic merits, the value of obtaining approval from a nationally recognized organization such as USGBC cannot be underestimated.
"The level of design, construction and sustainability in student housing is much higher than the level of cinder block residential dorms of just a few decades ago," says FitzGerald. "Amenities and living conditions in the Greek houses on many campuses are not keeping up with what’s happening in new construction of independent housing. We’ve got to work to be perceived as a viable housing option for students. Today’s students are very responsive to being sustainable and green, so one way to do this is to design and construct green buildings. LEED certification is the third-party verification, which confirms that we’re doing what we set out to do."
FitzGerald continues, "We use every opportunity to support and communicate the message of being sustainable and living green," says FitzGerald. "It's a business decision made easy by knowing you are doing the right thing."
About Pi Beta Phi
Founded at Monmouth College in Illinois in 1867, Pi Beta Phi has 134 active chapters and more than 330 alumnae groups in the United States and Canada. The Fraternity promotes friendship, develops women of intellect and integrity, cultivates leadership potential and enriches the lives of members and their communities. Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women founded its Fraternity Housing Corporation (FHC) in April 2008. The FHC is responsible for property management, property ownership and providing local Chapter Housing Corporations (CHC) with support services. For more information, visit www.pibetaphi.org.
About Fraternity Housing Corporation
Pi Beta Phi founded its Fraternity Housing Corporation (FHC) in April 2008. Its mission is to strengthen, support and service Chapter House Corporations (CHC) and FHC managed chapters within Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. The FHC currently provides the day-to-day facility management services for 10 chapters including all newly chartered chapters.
About CxGBS®
Commissioning & Green Building Solutions, Inc. (CxGBS®) is a nationally recognized green building consulting firm that helps clients build, operate and maintain environmentally friendly, top-performing buildings. The firm’s professionals work with project teams to reduce risk and apply sustainable development principles that lower the total cost of building ownership and create healthy conditions for occupants for the life of the building. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with satellite offices in Jackson, Mississippi; Cleveland, Ohio and Lenoir City, Tennessee, CxGBS® offers a comprehensive suite of services to provide high value solutions for better performing buildings including Sustainable Design Consulting, Holistic Commissioning®, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Certification Project Administration and Forensic Investigation. CxGBS is recognized by the General Services Administration (GSA) as a Schedule Contractor for its Federal Acquisition Service for Facilities Maintenance and Management (Contract # GS-21F-0069X).
For more information, visit www.cxgbs.com |
