2008 Woodie Awards
Dining hall renovation will be mostly 'green'
Emily Groves
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: News
Though plans are still in the early stages, Dining Services has big, green plans for the renovation of the old Denton dining hall.
Associate Director for Dining Services Joe Mullineaux said he is planning for the project to include an herb garden roof, bike racks, solar-powered hot water heaters and recycled construction materials. The dining hall could open as soon as 2008.
All these moves, he said, will help the proposed dining hall attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, an official designation that would ordain the project as environmentally sustainable.
Mullineaux said the certification would not throw Dining Services too far from its original plans, as many of the features that count toward LEED standards were originally proposed by the department before it decided to pursue the designation.
"Most of them we had planned to do for our own desire to be green," he said.
The standards assign points to specific sustainable measures new construction projects take. The grassy roof earned points because it will help the building retain heat. Solar panels will be used to heat some of the new dining hall's water and the recycled materials incorporated in its design got marks as well.
Even the dining hall's bike racks - which would encourage employees to bike to work - netted points. Some of the measures were as easy as adding smoking prohibitions and locating the project on the university bus route.
Still, an assistant director for dining services, Dave Bullock, said the certification is more difficult to attain for a refurbished building. The dining hall is being built on the site of a dinner buffet that has been closed since 2003 in the Denton community.
"It may cost a little more now," Mullineaux said. "But, in the long run, it will be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly."
The pricing on many of the green initiatives is still being calculated, Mullineaux said. While all the measures have been determined to be physically possible, Dining Services is still calculating their financial feasibility.
grovesdbk@gmail.comz
Associate Director for Dining Services Joe Mullineaux said he is planning for the project to include an herb garden roof, bike racks, solar-powered hot water heaters and recycled construction materials. The dining hall could open as soon as 2008.
All these moves, he said, will help the proposed dining hall attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, an official designation that would ordain the project as environmentally sustainable.
Mullineaux said the certification would not throw Dining Services too far from its original plans, as many of the features that count toward LEED standards were originally proposed by the department before it decided to pursue the designation.
"Most of them we had planned to do for our own desire to be green," he said.
The standards assign points to specific sustainable measures new construction projects take. The grassy roof earned points because it will help the building retain heat. Solar panels will be used to heat some of the new dining hall's water and the recycled materials incorporated in its design got marks as well.
Even the dining hall's bike racks - which would encourage employees to bike to work - netted points. Some of the measures were as easy as adding smoking prohibitions and locating the project on the university bus route.
Still, an assistant director for dining services, Dave Bullock, said the certification is more difficult to attain for a refurbished building. The dining hall is being built on the site of a dinner buffet that has been closed since 2003 in the Denton community.
"It may cost a little more now," Mullineaux said. "But, in the long run, it will be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly."
The pricing on many of the green initiatives is still being calculated, Mullineaux said. While all the measures have been determined to be physically possible, Dining Services is still calculating their financial feasibility.
grovesdbk@gmail.comz
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