Trivers and S. M. Wilson & Co.’s Washington University January Hall project in St. Louis received LEED Platinum certification for its green building practices, commitment to environmental responsibility and overall sustainability.
Located on the University’s Danforth Campus in St. Louis, January Hall was originally built in 1922 as Washington University’s School of Law. As part of the University’s long-term effort to revive legacy buildings, January Hall received an extensive renovation that included the addition of a 22-seat seminar room on the lower level and new restrooms, as well as renovations and reconfigurations of administrative offices, classrooms and the East Asian Library.
The original Moot Court and lecture hall is now an Active Learning classroom with highly flexible seating arrangements and integrated technology.
To enhance the energy performance of the building, the renovations included adding a second layer of interior glazing to the existing leaded glass windows, insulation of certain exterior walls and a new mechanical system with energy recovery and demand control.
Interior finishes were selected to support sustainability and human health goals by prioritizing recycled content, environmental reporting, low-VOC, and Red List (banned chemicals) free materials. The building now houses offices and teaching space for Washington University’s professional and continuing education division, University College.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
Trivers served as the Architect of Record and S. M. Wilson the Construction Manager. During the design and construction, the team worked together along with Hellmuth+Bicknese Architects, Sustainability Consultant, to ensure that sustainable elements of the project were prioritized and retained to achieve LEED Platinum, the highest LEED certification. January Hall received the following notable sustainable accomplishments:
- Washington University’s first project certified under LEED v4
- Achieving all possible points in Optimize Energy Performance with 35% energy savings
- Verified construction and demolition waste management achieving 96.3% diversion
- Storage and collection of recyclables
- Long-term commitment with enhanced commissioning and advanced energy metering
- Indoor water use reduction of 46.5 percent
