Sustainability

Features include high-efficiency LEDs and adaptive daylight harvesting to maximize the use of natural light. Vacancy sensors automatically turn off lights in unoccupied spaces, light shelves help direct sunlight inward, and an automated shading system optimizes solar heat gain.

A 265-kilowatt on-site cogeneration plant uses natural gas to generate electricity and recovers waste thermal energy for heating domestic hot water. As much as 40 percent of the building's electrical energy is generated on-site, reducing stress on the electricity grid during peak loads, when utility generation is especially carbon intensive.

Water collected from sinks, showers, and washing machines and collected rain will be treated and distributed for reuse in toilets, green roof irrigation (funded in part by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection), and the building's cooling tower. The University Center's innovative water reduction system cuts potable water usage by 74 percent and reduces sewer discharges.

An ice-storage system is used to lower the primary air-conditioning system's peak cooling load during hot summer days, when pressure on the grid is greatest. Ice is generated in 14 tanks during the night and is then used to cool air throughout the day, reducing peak usage by up to 30 percent.

Materials with recycled content, which were selected whenever possible, represent 20 percent of the building materials' cost. In addition, only wood certified to meet Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards was used during construction.

A demand control ventilation system brings in outside air only when required because of occupancy (measured on the basis of CO2 levels), and enthalpy wheels use the temperature of exhausted air to reduce the amount of energy required to heat or cool incoming fresh air.

Signs and working exhibitions in the building identify design elements that demonstrate architectural, structural, mechanical, and green building strategies. Student tour guides are carefully trained to introduce visitors to the building's high-performance features. Back-of-the-house spaces have been transformed into instructional spaces for New School students and facilities staff, as well as professional organizations and unions, which are expected to use the building for hands-on training. The University Center stands as a physical demonstration of environmental stewardship and innovation, providing a useful case study for a special course on sustainable urban construction — see the students' findings at their course website.