NWACC Health Center garners LEED certification

NorthWest Arkansas Community College has received silver LEED certification for its Center for Health Professions, which opened in early 2013.

The structure is the college’s first green building initiative through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Crafton Tull provided the architectural services, and Nabholz Construction Services was the contractor.

Jim Lay, NWACC’s executive director of facilities and construction management, said sustainable practices were followed throughout the building’s design and construction.

Green initiatives included such attention to detail as sourcing raw materials within 400 miles of the college and recycling more than 76% of the materials leaving the job site. Lay said 217 tons of material were diverted from landfills during the construction process. This included 25 tons of metal, 8 tons of cardboard, 21 tons of wood, 55 tons of drywall and 108 tons of concrete.

The building materials that comprise the Center for Health Professions contained more than 23% recycled content, including both pre-consumer and post-consumer materials.

Lay said the operation of the Center for Health Professions also is using sustainable practices in its operations and maintenance. All major systems of the Center for Health Professions have been designed to exceed the governing code requirements for energy performance by at least 10% in efficiency.

The center consumes 24% less energy compared to a building constructed with traditional methods. Plumbing fixtures throughout the building were selected because of their ability to use 30% less water than the fixtures required by state and local codes.

Representatives from Crafton Tull and Nabholz presented an award recognizing the Center for Health Professions’ silver LEED certification on Oct. 15 during a meeting of the College’s Land Use and Facilities Committee.

The 83,000-square-foot Center for Health Professions houses nursing, respiratory therapy, physical therapist assistant, paramedic, emergency medical technician, fire science, certified nurse assistant and patient care assistant programs.