News
October 11, 2006 - Cooper Union to follow green trend
The Cooper Union will be undertaking a “green initiative” of its own, much like NYU, replacing the Hewitt Building on Third Avenue with a nine-story “green” building.
A “green” building is one that uses environmentally-sound practices to create healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, operation, and maintenance, according to the EPA’s green buildings website.
The demolition of the Hewitt Building, between Sixth and Seventh streets, was delayed in August, though Cooper Union school officials expect its demolition and the construction of the new building to begin soon. The project will take an estimated two years to complete, according to a press release.
The new $120 million building was designed by Thom Mayne of the California-based architecture firm Morphosis. The current design has the new academic building enveloped in a “second skin” — a cover of perforated steel panels that will be able to move independently. This layer helps to regulate the building’s temperature by controlling daylight and through effective energy use and selective ventilation, according to a Cooper Union statement.
The building will also feature energy-efficient mechanical systems. Similar to NYU’s plans to purchase a new co-generator, the Cooper Square building will have an on-site co-generation plant, which simultaneously generates both electricity and heat energy, to take advantage of alternative energy sources.
Last week NYU Executive Vice President Michael Alfano announced the NYU Green Action Plan, an initiative intended to make the university’s logistical choices more environmentally-friendly. In a major step toward that effort, the university bought the largest share of wind energy by any U.S. university — at 118 million kilowatt hours — in an effort to become 100 percent free from reliance on the petroleum-based energy of its current supplier, Con Edison.
The university has also set up the Task Force for Sustainability — led by Lynne Brown, senior vice president for university relations and public affairs and Alison Leary, vice president for facilities and construction management — to examine the university’s environmental standards and options, including energy management and new sources of energy generation.
There are several other environmentally friendly buildings around NYU and lower Manhattan, including the NYU School of Law building at 140 -142 West Fourth Street, an apartment building at 28 Bedford Street and the Birdbath Green Bakery at 223 First Ave.
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Publication: NYU Washington Square News
