Planning for bicycles and going for the gold

As SPEA expands, the new construction will envelop the 10th Street bike racks. Some bike parking will remain out front after the building project is completed, but in the meantime, SPEA's bike parking in the back is getting some improvements with a multi-rack bike “parking lot” under construction.

More updates from the building committee

With the architects, the building committee is looking at traffic flow and is in the design phase of HVAC routing. 

Going for the gold

"LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification."

-- U.S. Green Building Council

The LEED certification system considers: 

• Location and transportation (including bicycle parking and a reduced parking footprint)
• Sustainability of the site
• Water efficiency
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• And other factors

The Paul H. O'Neill Graduate Center building and expansion project's goal is to receive at least a gold level of LEED certification--the only higher level is platinum.  

Third and fourth floor updates

As of this morning, the newly renovated third and fourth floor restrooms are open--that is ahead of schedule. Hooray!

• We should be able to share blueprints in October--interior schematics continue to be refined
• We've been working on fire escape routes 

And, most importantly:

• The restrooms on the third and fourth floors will be back in service on September 14