Tempe, AZ | 2008
Photography: Andrew Pielage, Mark Boisclair, Tiffany Halperin
Firm of Record: Tiffany Halperin, design lead while at Norris Design
Architects: Gould Evans and Lord Aeck & Sargent Architects
Project Recognition: Environmental Design + Construction Magazine, Seventh Annual Excellence in Design Award – Educational category
With LEED® Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in mind, a new home for Arizona State University Global Institute of Sustainability and transdisciplinary School of Sustainability in Tempe, was formed with the transformation of a 1960s nursing school. The renovation is anticipated to save 50.3 percent on water use compared with the original building’s baseline use. The building boasts new fenestration and sunscreens, and vegetative screens to combat solar heat gain. The building and site also make use of a wide variety of water-saving strategies and recycled content products. Creating new opportunities for outdoor use, the landscape designer included a new outdoor reception patio at the main office with a small and compact garden, new stair landing, and planting for green screens located at the building’s open breezeways. Sustainable design features include a permeable paving system, water efficient plant selection, and potted vines in breezeways to provide vertical shade to mitigate solar gain and the urban heat island effect.
Highlights: LEED Silver Certified | Renovation | University Campus Design | Placemaking | Historic Landscape | Pedestrian Connectivity | Sustainable Development Strategies | Urban Heat Mitigation | Water Reduction | Low Water Use Plant Palette | Permeable Paving