| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.78 |
| Liaison | Emily Vollmer |
| Submission Date | Feb. 18, 2021 |
Virginia Tech
IN-49: Innovation C
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Nathan
King Sustainability Manager Facilities |
Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
Virginia Tech has very robust construction, architecture, and design programs on the Blacksburg campus and the Washington-Alexandria campus that focus on sustainable buildings. Students have been partnering with faculty members since 2010 to compete in Solar Decathlons and gain real world experience tackling challenging energy/sustainability scenarios. The Solar Decathlon is a contest that encourages students to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. Virginia Tech had 2 student teams enter the competition and both won awards for their respective projects. One project focused on design plans for the Eco-Park Learning Center in partnership with Prince William County that would be located in the county landfill. This unique partnership extends beyond the competition as Virginia Tech has an ongoing contract with Prince William County to deliver project ideas and budgets in support of future development and fundraising. The Eco-Park design included many sustainable features such as a green roof, rain harvesting system, sustainable materials, high efficiency building systems, recycled glass pavers, and covered solar parking. The group won an honorable mention award in the Office Design category.
The 2nd team partnered with the City of Alexandria to create a resilient, net-energy positive, LEED Platinum eligible design for their City Hall and Market Square. The group was challenged to comply with historic design guidelines will also meeting standards for the City's 2040 Environmental Action Plan. The team won the "Smooth Operators Industry Engagement Award" for the project which involved hosting 13 "charettes" that brought together 13 design partners from local firms and 9 design advisors from several Virginia Tech research centers. Their goal was to get expert advice from industry leaders that would help shape the outcome of their project. The resulting design was a multi-functional City Hall with a microgrid and underground cisterns that would allow the building to be fully energy/water independent and operational during a disaster.
A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.