New Green Library

With the beginning of the 2009-10 academic year, George School students, faculty, and staff settled into the new, green Learning Commons and Mollie Dodd Anderson Library for the first time, following fifteen months of construction and seven years of planning.

	Tour the New, Green Anderson Library		Learn about the Construction Process

Encompassing a library, five classrooms, and a learning center, the more than 26,400-square-foot structure stands on the south end of campus at the intersection of Farm Drive and Meetinghouse Lane. With a number of green features, including a vegetative roof and geothermal heating and cooling, the building is designed to earn gold-level certification under the LEED system—the national standard for environmentally friendly building design, construction, and operation. The new academic facility is composed of a glass, box-like formation connected to two brick structures that match the nearby George School Meetinghouse.

The LEED system assesses buildings in a number of categories, awarding points for the use of sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy efficiency, impact on the earth’s atmosphere, the use of sustainable materials and resources, limitation of waste, indoor environmental quality, and the extent to which buildings address regional environmental priorities.

Highlights of the new facility’s green features include the following:

•	Over 50 percent of the new materials contain recycled content.
•	More than 60 percent of the new materials were obtained from regional resources, a strategy that minimizes the carbon dioxide emissions involved in transporting the materials to campus.
•	The Forest Stewardship Council, which encourages environmentally responsible forest management practices, certified 90 percent of the wood used for the building.
•	During construction, 88 percent of the waste generated by the process was recycled.
•	A 400-foot-deep geothermal field with forty wells heats and cools the structure and has the capacity to absorb and release 8.4 billion BTUs annually.
•	The vegetative roof and six rain gardens provide an environmentally friendly stormwater management system.
•	The vegetative roof helps to insulate the building.
•	All landscaping was done with native plants that can tolerate the local climate without the need for extra water. Read more about the Components of a Living Landscape.
•	Windows are coated with Low-E, a substance that helps to insulate the building.
•	To minimize odors and contaminants in the building, only low-emitting paints, carpets, and glues were used.
•	The carpet is comprised of squares so that individual pieces can be replaced as needed; this eliminates the need to replace the entire carpet when an area is damaged.
•	A state-of-the-art window covering system monitors sunlight penetration and automatically adjusts the shades to optimize interior room lighting.
•	Carbon dioxide sensors monitor the air and bring in fresh air as needed.
•	The bathrooms have waterless urinals and low-flush toilets.
•	A flat screen near the main entrance shows the building’s energy use in real time.

  
The official dedication ceremony for the learning commons and library took place during Visiting Day for parents, Saturday, October 17, 2009. Learn more about the building.