Butler Breaks Ground on $14 Million Pharmacy, Health Sciences Addition
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Building expected to be first LEED facility on campus, one of two LEED-Silvers in Indianapolis
Butler University broke ground today, Thursday, May 8, on a $14 million addition to its pharmacy and health sciences building. The addition, which is funded in part by a $25 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., will allow Butler’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to recruit more pharmacy faculty and accept more transfer students. It also satisfies the University’s goal to become a 'greener' campus.
“We have six objectives for the grant, one of which is to become an employer of choice among pharmacy faculty,” said Mary Andritz, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “One of the ways you do that is to have a good infrastructure — buildings, classrooms, laboratories and offices that allow instructors to be successful in the classroom and with their scholarship.”
Components of the 40,000-square-foot, four-story building includes two new classrooms with seating for an entire Pharm.D. class, a student lounge, faculty offices and project rooms and two laboratories — a History and Physical Laboratory to support Butler’s Physician Assistant (PA) program and a research lab for the pharmaceutical sciences faculty. With the new research lab, the College hopes to grow the pharmaceutical sciences program from four to seven faculty members.
With the addition of the History and Physical Laboratory, the entire PA program will be on campus for the first time in its 13-year history.
“Some of the courses, such as the ones that will take place in the new History and Physical Lab, took place at Clarian Health due to lack of space in the College," Andritz said. "The new lab will allow us to bring that portion of the program and those faculty members back on campus.”
The addition will also enable the College to accept transfer students into the professional phase of the pharmacy program, something it had not been able to do in recent years.
“In 2006-2007, we had 697 transfer applications for fewer than five openings,” said Andritz.
The University hopes this addition, which was designed by Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf and will be built by Shiel Sexton, will serve as a standard for all new construction projects by becoming Butler’s first LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, building on campus.
“We are in the process of applying for silver-level certification,” said Mike Gardner, vice president for operations. “It is a University priority for Butler to become a more 'green' campus. This addition will set the stage for all construction projects going forward.”
Some of the 'green' components of the addition include waterless urinals in the men’s room and hand dryers rather than paper towels in all restrooms. Bicycle storage, changing rooms and showers will be added for people who ride their bikes to work. Additionally, 5 percent of the building’s parking lot will be reserved for hybrid vehicles.
Classrooms will feature a combination of natural light and soft electric lights to reduce electricity use. Green electricity will be purchased through a program with Indianapolis Power & Light. Additionally, some of the heat generated from the University’s data center, which is being moved to the new addition, will be used to heat the building.
The University will also recycle the construction waste material that would normally go to a landfill, and install recycled carpet and flooring throughout the addition.
As part of the construction, the University will also renovate two pharmacy instructional labs in the existing building, which was built in 1951.
“What’s so exciting is that, at the end of this whole project, every [COPHS] research laboratory and every instructional laboratory will be brand new or totally renovated," Andritz said. “That will be a huge benefit to our students and our faculty.”
About LEED-Silver Certification
According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Butler’s pharmacy and health sciences addition would become the second LEED-Silver facility in Indianapolis, and the third LEED-Silver facility in the state. The IDO Incorporated building (in Indianapolis) and Isaac Ray Treatment Center (in Logansport) are also LEED-Silver. The USGBC offers four certification levels: certified, silver, gold and platinum.
Related Articles :
No Related Content Found