Jan 11, 2005 - Claremont, Calif. -

Harvey Mudd College's new Frederick and Susan Sontag Residence Hall is the first building in The Claremont Colleges consortium to be granted LEED certification for energy efficiency and environmentally sensitive design, it was announced today. It is among the fewer than 200 buildings in the world and 15 in California to earn the designation.

The announcement was made by the U.S. Green Building Council and, once finalized, the project will join others in the U.S. Department of Energy's High Performance Buildings Database. Designated LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction), the standards were designed to recognize organizations that develop high-performance, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable "green" buildings.

Sontag Hall, named for trustee and alumnus Frederick Sontag and his wife Susan, the major donors for the project, was completed in summer 2004 and dedicated the following November. It houses 75 students in 18 suites with full kitchens and 42 single and 18 double rooms. It has three study rooms, two data ports per bed and one phone and cable TV hookup in each room. It is also the site of the first faculty-in-residence program at Harvey Mudd College, where Vatche Sahakian, assistant professor of physics, hosts regular events and shares Middle-Eastern food with his fellow residents.

The project was overseen by HMC plant engineer Tom Shaffer and a team that included NTD Architects, general contractor Millie & Severson, and CTG Energetics, Inc., who provided assistance with the LEED certification process. The 26,171-square-foot building includes 798 "warts," custom 12" x 12" concrete blocks with smaller rectangular protuberances, a Harvey Mudd College architectural "trademark" and unofficial mascot ("Wally Mudd").

Sontag Hall includes the following LEED and green building characteristics:

• More than 75 percent of the construction waste was diverted away from landfills.
• More than 50 percent of the building materials were manufactured less then 500 miles from campus.
• More than 10 percent of the building materials is from recycled content.
• Most of the site's storm water is infiltrated into the landscape and not sent into city storm drains.
• Water-efficient drip irrigation systems reduce landscape water use by more than 50 percent compared to standard practice.
• Energy-efficient systems reduce the building's energy use by more than 18 percent compared to standard practice.
• The wood ceiling in the lounge comes from a certified sustainably managed forest.
• A white "cool roof" helps to minimize the urban heat island effect.

Harvey Mudd College's current construction project, the Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons, is also designed to meet LEED standards. It is scheduled open in spring 2005.

To learn more:

U.S. Green Building Council: http://www.usgbc.org/

U.S. Department of Energy High Performance Buildings Database: www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/highperformance/case_studies/