(Posted June 7, 2004)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Shuster Hall, the first building completed in Juniata College's research complex at the Raystown Field Station, has been certified as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building by the U.S Green Building Council.
The field station building is one of 11 LEED certified buildings in Pennsylvania and one of two that are associated with higher education.

"One of the top priorities for Juniata's new research station is to ensure that our presence on Raystown Lake has a minimal environmental impact on the ecosystem," says Juniata College President Thomas Kepple. "Our status as a 'green' building gives us a rare opportunity to use the building itself as a teaching tool for students, while also setting an example for other institutions who are interested in environmentally designed buildings."

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The system was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to define common standards for rating "green" buildings and to promote integrated, whole-building design. LEED was created to recognize environmental leadership and stimulate green building competition in the building industry, as well as raise consumer awareness for the benefits of green buildings.

LEED provides a thorough framework for assessing building performance in their rating system. Some of the major criteria considered in a LEED rating are: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Shuster Hall is intended to function as a teaching and learning tool for the college's state-of-the-art environmental monitoring system. Among its environmentally green features are:

--All restrooms have water-saving urinals and composting toilets.

--The building is designed and situated on the site to gain 60 percent of its lighting needs from the sun and uses energy-saving lights.

--Energy used by the field station will be paid for by credits from an energy company that uses wind-powered energy generation.

--Environmental sensors and monitoring equipment will allow students and faculty to assess and monitor temperature, soil conditions, weather conditions and water quality outside the facility. The multipurpose building also is designed for sustainability and energy-efficiency. Students and faculty will be able to monitor water usage, energy consumption and other environmental data within the building.

--The cypress siding and maple flooring for Shuster Hall are obtained from regionally grown forests.

--Materials used in the construction of the building have been largely re-used or recycled.

A case study detailing the features of Shuster Hall has been posted on the Green Building Council Web site: www.usgbc.org. In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy will feature the Shuster Hall case study on its High-Performance Buildings Database: http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/highperformance/case studies/.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.