Residence Halls Make Way for Eco-Friendly Renovations

Since June 2007, when Columbia and Barnard joined eight other New York City colleges in adopting Mayor Bloomberg’s “30 in 10” challenge, ongoing efforts to make the University more eco-friendly have picked up speed. As part of the initiative, residence halls are going green.

Bloomberg’s challenge—under PlaNYC, his long-term sustainability project—calls for a reduction of greenhouse emissions by 30 percent over the next 10 years. Although Columbia and Barnard have been increasing environmental efforts since around 2005, the Mayor’s challenge has given green projects new “support and credibility” over the past year, according to Lisa Gamsu, vice president for administration and capital planning at Barnard. Gamsu said that, in particular, the mayor’s plan has “provided a framework” for a switchover to sustainable products in residence halls.

Currently, both Columbia and Barnard are embarking on pilot projects to test the possibility of entirely green residence halls. This summer, Columbia will renovate a suite in Woodbridge “in an environmentally responsible way,” according to Scott Wright, head of Housing and Dining. Changes will include energy-efficient appliances, fluorescent lighting, wall timer switches, and sustainable flooring.

Wright said that this suite will become “the standard model for all of our initiatives now” and that over the next two years, all of Woodbridge will be renovated to be Columbia’s “green residence hall.” He added that a new boiler that runs on biofuel and new windows for better insulation have already been added to Woodbridge. Columbia will also work with a plan—based on a Gateway Project by students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science—for solar panels that will generate power for some of the building.

Barnard has also been working on a model green suite at 600 W. 116th St. According to Gamsu, the suite was completely gutted when its old tenant moved out last year, and it is in the process of being renovated using all recyclable materials. The floors and walls were fitted with a material called Eco-Cem, while recycled countertops were added, and Energy Star-approved appliances were installed.

“This suite is a way of test-piloting green products that we can hopefully use in future renovations,” said Matt Kingston, associate director for Housing Operations. Kingston added that a special-interest group of Barnard EcoReps will live in the suite next year to test its durability before the college moves forward with future renovations.

In addition to these larger projects, both Columbia and Barnard have been making smaller changes in residence halls over the past several years and will continue to do so. Such changes include systematically replacing old, inefficient appliances with Energy Star-compliant ones and installing compact florescent light bulbs—which use almost 75 percent less energy than standard bulbs and last up to 10 times longer—in place of incandescent bulbs.

“We are very conscious of the need to shift over to sustainable materials wherever we can,” said Julio Vazquez, director of Facilities Services at Barnard. “Some materials may not exist yet, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t stop looking for them.”

In the immediate future, Columbia will add new fluorescent overhead lights to Wien and will replace floors in Ruggles. This summer, Barnard will renovate kitchens and bathrooms in 20 suites using sustainable materials “wherever possible,” according to Gamsu. Barnard will also install new, eco-friendly linoleum flooring at 620 W. 116th St.

Despite these physical changes in residence halls, “students need to become more conscious of environmental issues and to make small lifestyle changes in their everyday living situations,” said Laurie Rabinowitz, BC ’08 and chair of the Student Government Association’s Go Green committee.

In keeping with that advice, the Columbia College Student Council and Columbia EcoReps initiated their “Do It in the Dark” energy challenge this semester. The project measures energy use in each dorm on a monthly basis and rewards the dorm that shows the greatest decrease in energy consumption. The first winners are the residents of Hartley Hall, though council members are still determining the reward, which will likely be an eco-friendly study break.

stephanie.turner@columbiaspectator.com