Glacier Building
The Glacier Building, home to Pierce College's Vet Tech and Dental Hygiene programs, is certified by the Green Business Certification Institute as LEED® Silver. LEED® stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. With a LEED certified building we are ensuring our building systems are more efficient, durable, and resilient for current and future learners. Our LEED® certified building exemplifies our commitment to providing an environment that influences our core values of learning, integrity, respect, accountability, and sustainability. Our building sources from manufacturers that are transparent about their products, reduce impacts on indoor air quality, preserves natural spaces, reduces overall water consumption, increases efficiency, and promotes inclusivity from the ground up.
Healthy Interiors
Indoor Environmental Quality
Seeking synergy through environmental sustainability, with a social sustainability lens requires a new form of balance. Through advocacy, many can make a difference to bridge the gap between social systems and their relationship to the environment.
Pierce College’s commitment to social equity, diversity, and inclusion, includes designing spaces that allow the community to safely occupy the building. Given the mixture of animal and human medical care activities, air borne particles from these activities can be irritants to those with allergies. To ensure optimal healthy indoor air quality, this building utilizes 100% outdoor air for all spaces.
Water Efficiency
Indoor Water User Reduction
Nearly 70% of the earth is covered by water, and yet only 2.5 % of that water is fresh water, and of that water only 1% is easily accessible. Reducing unnecessary potable water usage by increasing water fixture efficiency ensures that future generations have access to a safe water supply. This building has reduced drinkable water usage by over 35% - that’s over 60,000 gallons a year – just by installing low flow faucets, showers and toilets.
Energy and Atmosphere
Optimized Energy Performance
The use of mechanical systems that provide 100% outdoor air can sometimes negatively impact the energy efficiency of a building. However, because of the college’s dedication to healthy indoor air quality AND energy efficiency, the project team was provided the opportunity to blaze new trails with how energy use is quantified within the LEED rating system. In the end, the team was able to illustrate a 22% savings in annual energy costs, while still providing healthy levels of outdoor air for ventilation. This project is proof that with a clear mission, data driven research, and technical expertise, we can achieve synergistic outcomes in the regulatory, environmental, and social sustainability realms.
Materials and Resources
Environmental Impact Reporting
Where does that product come from? How is it made? What environmental impact does the creation of that material have? This project prioritized environmental stewardship by selecting materials with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). EPDs report a product’s impact on things such as global warming potential, smog creation, ozone depletion and water pollution.
Material Ingredient Reporting
The average American spends over 90% of their life indoors and surprisingly, indoor air pollution is often higher than outdoor. This project prioritized the health and well-being of its employees and visitors through the selection of interior building materials that provide transparency into ingredients used in the creation of that product.
All Gender Restrooms
The call for nature is the same for everyone, and with the inclusion of all gender restrooms we provide the answer to this call. Gender inclusive bathrooms work for everyone, creating safer environments for families with children, individuals with disabilities who have other-gender caregivers, and transgender people. On top of the social benefits, lines are generally shorter, and stalls offer more privacy without those pesky gaps or poor locking mechanisms.
Location and Transportation
Sensitive Land Protection
Ah, the Pacific Northwest! Known for its emerald luster and natural beauty, it is important to protect our region’s natural areas and habitats. As such, the college opted to build the Glacier Building on a previously developed area of campus. Special efforts were also made to ensure no polluted runoff from the site entered the nearby bodies of water, keeping our local fauna happy and healthy, too!
Sustainable Sites
Rainwater Management (V4.1)
Rainwater management, efficient for the next generation. An undeveloped ecosystem is more responsive to the hydrological cycle. This is why LEED® rewards project teams for reducing stormwater runoff volume and improving water quality by replicating the natural hydrology and water balance of the project site. Just like the native Garry oak prairie is known for its distinct plants and animals, it is also known for its unique hydrological profile. By incorporating biofiltration systems like the one you see before you, we can ensure we are reducing impact on municipal systems and improving natural ecosystem services.
Protect and Restore (V4.1)
When we protect and restore our site area we aim to conserve existing natural areas and restore damaged areas to provide habitat and promote biodiversity. Retaining and restoring natural environments also help to create supportive learning environments. Recent evidence suggests that there is an overall positive benefit of a walk or run in a natural environment in comparison to a synthetic environment.
Before you head to class, take a walk around the Glacier Building. Nearly 40% of previously disturbed site area was restored with native or adapted plants found in EPA Level III North American Terrestrial Ecoregion Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound Lowland. The selection of plants was inspired by native Garry Oak prairie in an effort to restore the previously disturbed site closer to its pre-development state, and connects to the existing native prairie. Stop, take it all in, allow your body to relax, breathe, then head inside to enjoy the view from there.