The Croatan

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The Croatan

The Croatan is a dining area located on the main campus of East Carolina University. Since its construction in 1970, it has recently been remodeled with new sustainable features that allow the structure to use less energy and use it in a more efficient way.

East Carolina University is a 4 year University located in Greenville, North Carolina.

The Croatan is currently the only LEED certified building on the entire East Carolina campus, with a silver certification granted by the United States Green Building Council. The Croatan was demolished and remodeled in 2009 to make way for a higher influx of students.

Since the remodel, the Croatan was built with a Chick-fila-a and a Chilis To Go inside, both for student and faculty use.

The Croatan is the only LEED certified building on the East Carolina University campus

Construction and LEED Certification

The Croatan is currently the only building on the entire East Carolina University Campus that has been LEED certified, with many others in the progress of becoming certified. The Croatan was awarded LEED silver in 2010 with its new introduced sustainable design systems.

LEED is a acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a certification program that denotes how green, or compliant in terms of energy conservation, water usage, air quality, and building materials.

The Croatans LEED cerification offers many benefits to the lifespan of the structure that allow the building to operate at a more efficient level while creating minimal waste.

The contractor responsible for the remodel of the Croatan is Rodgers Builders out of Charlotte North Carolina.

Before the Croatans remodel, it had many design and structural flaws,and also had a number health and code violations. However, the building underwent a massive change. The Croatan was demolished in 2009 to make way for the new structure. Estimates predicted it would cost less to demolish the building than to repair it effectively.

The Croatan has been awarded LEED silver by the United States Green Building Council

Pictured is Ross Hall, another building on ECU campus that is in the process of becoming LEED certified.

Visuals and Structure Design

The Croatan has a notable different architecture style compared to structures nearby. It has a new, modern look and has a distinctive architectural style to it. Along most of the walls one can find large grid style windows that let in a significant amount of natural light to enhance the space. In addition, the ceiling was raised in the main dining area to allow the room to feel larger and to compliment the amount of sunlight coming in. This combination of the elevated ceiling and large windows gives the Croatan a modern and natural look.

The Croatan also has a unique floor layout so it can have a wide arrangement of services. The way the Croatans floor layout is set up allows the building to accommodate large rooms and dining areas, but also small meeting rooms and quiet areas. However, the floor plan does not restrict the buildings foot traffic or its general flow. It utilizes a design setup where the busier portions of the building, such as Chcik-Fil-A, are located more to the front of the structure while the meeting rooms and other access points are located more toward the back. This layout allows the front area to maintain its restaurant style service without compromising the quieter zones needed by the meeting rooms. Outside areas provides sitting and relaxation areas, which are supplied with by planted trees and native plants surrounding the structure.

Sustainability and Sustainable Design

The Croatan has been awarded LEED silver certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Key points to the Croatans certification are the use of reclaimed recycled materials, its reduced energy consumption and its several water efficient systems to cut down on consumption and operating cost. The Croatan utilizes many sustainable strategies in its construction that will attempt to make the structure more enjoyable and functional to its inhabitants. One way these strategies are used is the incorporation of the large paned windows on two sides of the dining room and on other exterior walls in other sections. The use of these large windows allows a large amount of sunlight to come into the rooms inside, creating a greenhouse effect inside. In doing so, The Croatan creates its own miniature climate controlled environment and saves on electricity using natural heat and warmth in the colder months. Also featured are special LED lighting fixtures that greatly reduce operating cost year round.

Another sustainable design attribute The Croatan has is the use of reclaimed bricks in its construction. The bricks were taken from a abandoned tobacco warehouse and were used to construct The Croatan. Doing this not only saved construction cost, but it also attributed to the structures LEED accreditation. The Croatan also has sustainable design solutions in regards to water usage and consumption. The Croatan is equipped with large water cisterns that collect rainwater and then distribute it to numerous parts of the building such as water for cleaning and irrigation.

An additional water efficiency feature is the use of permeable pavement which allows water rainwater and storm runoff to permeate the ground and eliminate the use for retention ponds and water treatment facilities. This method also allows a more efficient use of land. The ECU grounds department has also begun using more native and drought tolerant vegetation around the area, which allows the university to irrigate far less than it previously did. These plants require less water, less mowing, and fewer chemicals to survive, which is also beneficial to the environment.

Benefits and Goals of the Design

The Croatans use of sustainable design implementations allows it to qualify for benefits awarded by its LEED certification. Some benefits of having LEED certification are better indoor air quality, reduced waste and consumption of energy and a more efficient water usage system.

With all the energy efficient systems used in the Croatan, it saves a significant amount of money each month on its utilities. With these savings, the cost of remodeling the Croatan will be surpassed and it will pay itself off in the next few years.

The use of large windows allows natural sunlight to come in the structure and create a miniature climate control system.

The use of reclaimed bricks allows for reduced transportation and construction cost, and is more beneficial to the environment.

Special lighting fixtures use low energy consumption LED's that require far less power to operate than a normal bulb.

Typical plastic water cistern

References

This article "The Croatan" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:The Croatan. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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