Franklin Hall earns LEED status
Upon your first visit to Franklin Hall, you’ll be quick to notice all the shiny new stuff like our 24-foot-wide TV screen in the commons and the new state-of-the-art Ken and Audrey Beckley Studio with cutting-edge technology. But what you don’t notice may be even more impressive: Franklin Hall is green.
You won’t see printers in every office or lights that are on 24/7. You won’t see trashcans stuffed full or feel the sun’s heat through the giant glass skylight.
Instead, you will find communal printing stations throughout the building and see lights turn off after you leave a room. Blue recycling bins decorate every office and digital window shading efficiently cools the central commons.
Due to the extensive recycling efforts of the construction team, Franklin Hall has earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification.
“The LEED silver certification is pretty impressive,” said Jay Kincaid, director of facilities and technology for The Media School, “especially for an old building like Franklin Hall.”
But this historic building now sports up-to-the-minute technology, much of which helped earn the certification.
“The screen helps us achieve the LEED certified silver because it runs at 40 percent power,” said Kincaid. “And the screen weighs 3,600 pounds and came in tons of wooden crates and pallets. We were able to recycle 100 percent of all the packaging it came in.”
Although Franklin Hall has earned the certification, the recycling initiatives must be maintained in order to remain a LEED certified silver building.
“The certification is hard to get and even harder to keep,” Kincaid said. But students, staff and faculty can join in on the efforts.
“Basically, just think before you throw it away,” Kincaid said. Simply sorting your trash into paper, plastic and landfill materials before disposing of it will go a long way.
“Think about this as your own home. Put things away and clean things up,” said Kincaid. “It’s a beautiful showpiece and we want to keep it as such.”
And in the bigger picture, recycling and being aware of trash has benefits far beyond Franklin Hall.
“It’s not just helping us, it’s helping the whole environment and being good stewards of the earth,” he added.