Burnidge Cassell Associates is working with the London architectural firm of Short & Associates to provide a state-of-the-art sustainable building for Judson University in Elgin, Illinois. For much of the year, this 88,000 square foot classroom and library building will utilize passive ventilation, passive heating and passive cooling in place of conventional mechanical equipment. A full mechanical plant will heat and cool the facility during summer and winter temperature extremes. During those periods of extreme temperature, the mechanical system will conserve energy by making use of a geothermal well field to help heat the library in the winter months and to provide cooling in the summer.

The building will utilize natural lighting wherever possible to minimize power consumption and to increase the comfort of the building occupants. This innovative structure makes extensive use of recycled and renewable materials, interior finishes will be specified as low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) materials to reduce levels of indoor pollution.

The design team’s goal is to produce a building that will consume only 50% of the energy resources required for a conventional structure. When construction is complete, the Harm Weber Library and Academic Center will be one of the “greenest” academic buildings in North America.

To conserve water resources, the design of the landscape surrounding the building will incorporate “xeriscaping”; plant selections will be comprised of local species that require no artificial irrigation. Storm water runoff from the project site will be filtered by bioswales to increase the quality of wetlands that are adjacent to the building site. BCA is designing the Library and Academic Center to be LEED® certified; this project hopes to meet LEED® “silver rating” standards.