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V O L . X X V I I N O. V I I I R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G e Ecology School in Saco built a 9,000-square-foot dormitory and 7,000-square-foot dining commons to "Living Building Challenge" specifi- cations, which require the buildings to generate more energy than they use, capture and treat all water on site, and be made using healthy materials. e goal of the challenge's certifying agency, the Seattle-based International Living Future Institute, "is to make things almost impossible to do," Drew Dumsch, the school's president and CEO says with a laugh. "ey make the most rigorous development program in the world and say to architects, engi- neers, builders, 'Figure it out.'" Both institutions have environ- mental and social responsibility as their core missions. Common threads between the projects include passive house methods of construction, with considerations like high-performance envelopes, super-insulation, tight air seals, triple-glazed windows, added ventilation and solar orientation to optimize energy performance. LEED on steroids e Ecology School is a nonprofit envi- ronmental residential learning center founded in 1998. Its $14.1 million project broke ground in 2019. e school is the first location in Maine to aim for Living Building certification, which exceeds the rating of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and the Passive House Institute. Dumsch has called the standards "LEED certification on steroids." "Living buildings" are "regen- erative," self-sufficient and create a positive impact on human and natural systems. e challenge poses compli- cated standards around the concepts of "place," water, energy, "health and hap- piness," materials, equity and beauty. For example, every building material must be manufactured in a healthy way, Built for good New academic facilities showcase world's most rigorous energy-performance principles B y l a u R i e s C h R e i B e R F O C U S C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 0 » P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D College of the Atlantic's president, Darron Collins, says ideas around sustainability, part of the college's DNA, were integral to the design of the new Davis Center for Human Ecology. College of the Atlantic partners: Opal Architecture, Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture • Design, John Gordon | Architect, ReVision Energy, E.L. Shea Builders & Engineers, Kate and Andrew Davis and the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Drew Dumsch, founder of the Ecology School, embraced the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge for construction of a new dormitory and dining commons Ecology School Partners: Kaplan Thompson Architects, Briburn LLC, Simon Architects, Richardson & Associates, ReVision Energy, Zachau Construction, Hancock Lumber M ass timber, wood-fiber insu- lation, non-toxic finishes, cast-iron plumbing, bird-safe windows and hundreds of solar panels. ese are just some of the state-of- the-art, and sometime unique, elements that went into recently completed academic facilities designed to meet the world's most rigorous standards for energy performance and sustainable construction techniques. College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor built the 29,000-square-foot Davis Center for Human Ecology to passive house standards with a goal of achieving at least 80% reduction in energy consumption versus compa- rable code-compliant construction. "It uses human beings as part of the energy and heat production," says the college's president, Darron Collins. "We want people in the building, because every person is a little 100-watt bulb walking around." A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 2 1 28 Living Building A challenge created in 2014 by International Living Future Institute in Seattle. Living Buildings are: Regenerative, connecting occu- pants to light, air, food, nature and community Self-sufficient and remain within the resource limits of their site And create a positive impact on human and natural systems S O U R C E : International Living Future Institute Passive building Design principles — continuous insulation, no thermal bridging, airtight envelope, high-performance windows, heat- and moisture- recovery ventilation, minimal space conditioning system — to attain a quantifiable and rigorous level of energy efficiency within a specific quantifiable comfort level. S O U R C E : Passive House Institute TERMS They make the most rigorous development program in the world and say to architects, engineers, builders — 'Figure it out.' — Drew Dumsch Ecology School

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