3/3/15 Week 7 Day 1

Today we visited BIF, the Business Instructional Facility, and discussed the various ways buildings can be more friendly to the environment, more effective with their resources, and gain LEED certification.

BIF has large windows that take up nearly an entire wall, bringing in plenty of light during a sunny day. A second radiator has to be placed halfway up the windows in order to help keep out the cold.

 In order to gain more LEED points, BIF has bike racks in order to encourage biking to the facility. The points can only be gained, however, if there are showers for the bikers to use inside the facility. BIF therefore spent thousands of dollars on shower facilities because of the campus's dedication to having as many LEED certified buildings as possible.

These photos show a piece of the roof that is allowed to grow plants in an effort to be more green. The area is probably too small to gain a point toward being LEED certified, though.

This roof of this section of the building is covered with solar panels, but during the winter they are not very effective since a solar panel is only as efficient as its least efficient square. In the photo to the left nearly all of the panels are partially covered in snow, bringing the efficiency to almost zero.

The Business Instructional Facility has a small area outside that was meant to be a natural garden in which plants could grow with little maintenance. Many complained about the aesthetics of this area though, thinking it appeared messy or over grown, and it was changed into the average courtyard to be mowed and tended to.