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Rogers House

Green Building Profile

Rogers House opened in 1928 to provide housing for non-sorority women within the women’s quadrangle. The residential hall is co-ed, with men and women living on separate floors. Renovations to the building began in February of 2010 and were completed seven months after. The project included a new heating and ventilation system, and new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and life safety and fire alarm system. Rogers House is Northwestern’s first green residence hall, having received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for its innovative and sustainable design.

Green Building Highlights

The LEED certification system used for this building was based on a 107-point scale. For Gold certification, a minimum of 60 points is required. Rogers House was awarded 61 points. Notable features include the following:

  • Sustainable sites: The building accommodates occupants who travel sustainably, including those who ride bicycles and use public transportation.
  • Water efficiency: Rogers House’s renovation improved the building’s water conservation significantly, implementing new technologies that save water use in the daily activity.
  • Energy and atmosphere: More energy-efficient lighting and daylight controls; domestic hot water systems; and heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems have been implemented.
  • Material and resources: 100 percent of the residential community’s existing wall, floor, and roof elements were maintained during the renovation, which is considered a highly sustainable construction practice because no new structural elements needed to be manufactured or built.
  • Indoor environmental quality: A Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan was created for the building to ensure that Rogers House followed safety standards for toxins and pollutants during the renovation.

Green Building Features

Sustainable sites — 15 out of 26 possible points

Rogers House was awarded several credits for its location, which gives building occupants access to many different services in the community. The residential community is located within one-half mile of 22 community services and 2 rail lines, as well as within one-quarter mile of 3 existing bus lines. Bicycle storage facilities accommodate commuters who chose to commute more sustainably.

Water efficiency — 8 out of 10 possible points

The landscape surrounding the building has been designed for no irrigation, which conserves water. The renovation also reduced potable water use within the building by 50 percent via the installation of dual-flush toilets, low-flow showers, and ultra-low-flow lavatories.

Energy and atmosphere — 16 out of 35 possible points

Rogers House has achieved energy cost savings of almost 38 percent, due in part to an improved thermal envelope, high-efficiency window glazing, reduced interior lighting power density and a solar service water pre-heating system. Additionally, green power is provided for 100 of the total electricity use over a 2-year period.

Material and resources — 9 out of 14 possible points

The residential community was awarded several credits for its encouragement of sustainable practices like recycling. Throughout the building, there are appropriately sized dedicated areas for the collection and storage of materials for recycling, including cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, and metals. During construction, 85 percent of on-site generated waste was diverted from the landfill and over 12 percent of the total building materials have been manufactured using recycled materials.

The building itself was also constructed in a way that reinforces the university’s commitment to a positive environmental impact. Rogers House is a renovation of an existing building, so 100 percent of the existing wall, floor, and roof elements have been maintained. In addition to this, almost 76 percent of existing interior non-structural elements have been maintained. Over 12 percent of the total building materials were extracted, harvested, or recovered, along with manufactured, within 500 miles of the project site.

Indoor environmental quality — 9 out of 15 possible points

A Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan was created for Rogers House to ensure that the building followed safety standards for toxins and pollutants during the renovation. As a result, all indoor adhesives, sealants, paints and coating products comply with VOC limits.

In order to give all building occupants a sense of comfort, thermal controls are provided for individual workstations as well as all shared multi-occupant spaces.

Other credits — 4 points

Rogers House received extra credits for exemplary performance in several LEED categories. The residential community has been recognized for its outstanding achievement in water use reduction, public transportation access, and green power. Additionally, the building was awarded extra credit for including a LEED Accredited Professional on the project development team.

Architect, Engineer, Contractor

Architect: Weese Langley Weese Architects
Engineer:  Elara Engineering
Contractor: W.B. Olson, Inc