Tours

Host Institute Tours

AASHE is proud to partner with several Host Institutes for AASHE 2011, with many campuses enhancing their partnership by including tours for conference attendees. Please support our Host Institutions by taking advantage of the many opportunities for one-on-one and small group discussions which these hands-on, interactive tours are sure to provide.

Sunday, October 9th Tours

Chatham University Campus Tour

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  • Sunday, October 9th
  • 12:30-4:30pm
  • Includes lunch
  • Transportation provided
  • Limited to 20 conference attendees
  • Fee: $20.00

Sustainability is a key mission initiative at Chatham University. As the alma mater of Rachel Carson, founder of the modern environmental movement, Chatham endeavors to honor her legacy by integrating sustainability throughout the curriculum, the campus and the community.

Beginning at Chatham’s historic Shadyside Campus, Established in 1869, the 39-acre campus is a registered arboretum and includes over 125 distinct species of trees and with landscape features designed by the Olmsted Brothers and E.P. Mellon. The tour will highlight adaptive reuse projects from our Art and Design Center (formerly a gymnasium) to the Mellon Board Room (formerly a swimming pool), new rain garden, and solar water heater systems at our residence halls.

Next we move to Chatham Eastside, where Chatham renovated over 55,000 square feet of this building to LEED Silver to serve as the home for graduate programs. Also housed here are the undergraduate and graduate interior architecture programs and graduate landscape architecture program, each of which incorporates sustainable practices in the curriculum.

Finally, we travel north to Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus, the first sustainable campus in the world built from the ground up. This 388-acre former farm will be the home of Chatham’s School of Sustainability and the Environment. The University engaged the award-winning firms of BNIM and Andropogon to develop the Campus master plan, which was completed in December 2010. This year Chatham selected Mithūn to design the campus’ first phase. You’ll get a first-hand look at plans for the EcoCenter and EcoVillage, which will feature buildings designed to LEED Platinum, living, and passive standards, as well as an innovative “energy loop” system, with an eventual total campus population of 1,500 students.

For more information on Chatham University and the School of Sustainability and the Environment click here.

Dusquesne University: Clean Energy Sustains an Urban Campus

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  • Sunday, October 9
  • 1:00pm - 4:00pm
  • Walking Tour
  • Limited to 60 conference attendees
  • Fee: $20.00

Duquesne University's campus relies 100% on clean energy through a combination of energy generation and renewable energy purchasing. The University has received multiple EPA awards. Its newest facility, the Power Center, has earned LEED Silver Rating. For over a decade, Duquesne University has generated the bulk of its own electricity with a clean-burning natural gas turbine located at the heart of campus. This cogeneration plant produces approximately 85% of the power used to light, heat and cool the University’s facilities. It is Pennsylvania’s first approved generation system for creating Alternative Energy Credits and the first academic institution in the state to receive the EPA’s Energy Star Combined Heat and Power Award.

The University purchases the remainder of its energy needs from renewable sources. This combination of energy generation and renewable energy purchasing led to its 100% reliance on clean energy. The EPA recognized Duquesne University for two consecutive years as the Individual Conference Champion for purchasing more green power than any other school in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The installation of a highly efficient cooling system that relies on ice is the first of its kind in a Pittsburgh academic institution. The process begins by creating ice in 28 massive storage tanks. The ice then melts, creating chilled fluid that is pumped across campus and cools multiple buildings. By creating the ice at night, the University reduces its peak energy demand. As Duquesne does its part to ease the strain on the power grid, other consumers’ needs can be more easily met and utility companies are able to increase capacity, ultimately lessening the need for new power plants.

The University’s sustainability report offers an overview of other efforts that improve the environmental quality of our operations.

For information on Duquesne's Power Center, click here.

David L. Lawrence Convention Center: Back of House Tour

Take a FREE tour of the back of house and see how it all works!

  • Sunday, October 9th
  • 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Meet at Check-In
  • FREE

g1 (green first) comes naturally at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC). Located in downtown Pittsburgh, the DLCC is the first “green” convention center in the world, and the only meeting venue to be awarded the Gold LEED® Certification by the US Green Building Council. Green is more than the way we are built — it is the way we operate. Here at the Green First web site you can learn more about our committment to being green, from our building design to our daily operations and greenpractices, to our bottle cap program. That's what g1 is all about!

During this tour, you will have a behind-the-sites look at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC) learning how it operates “green” every day. This 1.5 million square foot facility opened in 2003 as the worlds’ first Gold LEED ® certified green convention center. Not only was it built green, but also it operates green through the use of a grey water treatment plant, natural ventilation system, energy efficiencies, recycling, composting and other sustainable practices. The tour will be conducted by Mark Leahy, general manager of the DLCC.

Wednesday, October 12th Tours

Penn State Community Based Sustainability Efforts

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  • Wednesday, October 12
  • 12:00pm - 4:00pm
  • Walking Tour
  • Limit TBD
  • Fee: $20.00

The Pennsylvania State University, through the Penn State Center – Engaging Pittsburgh, works with local communities and corporations to extend the knowledge resources of the Institution helping to address various local challenges. Through these partnerships, various projects are in progress throughout the region that addresses sustainability issues. The tour will visit two efforts that are all within a healthy walking distance. One such project is an effort in partnership with the County of Allegheny to install the first publicly owned Green Roof in Pittsburgh. Penn State, through the Center, provided consultation and technical assistance throughout the process including concept, planning, RFP review, installation, and follow-up educational activities. This segment of the tour will highlight both the County’s Green Roof as well as the County Courthouse Courtyard that incorporates rain garden concepts and is maintained by Penn State Master Gardener Volunteers. This portion of the tour will be led by University Professor Rob Berghage and Special Assistant to the County Chief Executive, Darla Cravotta.

The second segment will be to visit the Green Innovator building, a local community based project designed to sustainably rebuild an old vo-tech high school into a sustainable show case of edge technology. The building will be under construction but the tour will visit the grounds with limited access inside the building. A presentation will be provided to show design features of the completed rehab project. Tour will be led by Deno De Ciantis, Ed.D., Director, The Penn State Center.

For more information on The Penn State Center click here

Carnegie Mellon Green Campus Tour

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  • Wednesday October 12
  • 12:00pm - 6:00pm
  • Includes Light Lunch
  • Transportation provided
  • Limited to 40 conference attendees
  • Fee: $30.00

Carnegie Mellon University is a world leader in addressing environmental issues, including global warming, alternative and clean energy sources, sustainable building design, green chemistry and environmental education. The university also has supported an aggressive green practices program since 1998.

Carnegie Mellon built the first Silver LEED rated Residence Hall in the US in 2003 and as of 2010 has over 500,000 sq ft of LEED Certified building space. Green roofs, advanced energy systems, and advanced water management systems are included in our LEED building systems.

On this tour we will visit several campus LEED new construction or commercial interiors building projects and environmental research centers. Included on the tour will be the University Center Green Room, Carnegie Café, Intelligent Workplace, Hamerschlag & Doherty Hall Green Roofs, and the Gates Hillman Complex, our newest LEED new construction buildings completed in 2010.

Phipps Conservatory Botanical Gardens, future home of one of the world's first Living Buildings, has evolved into an international leader in sustainable landscapes, buildings and practices, serving as a model for visitors, public gardens and institutions worldwide. Its commitment to conservation, biodiversity and sustainability is demonstrated through its earth-sheltered LEED® Silver Welcome Center, state-of-the-art Production Greenhouse, revolutionarily designed Tropical Forest Conservatory, and future net-zero energy and net-zero water Center for Sustainable Landscapes. This tour will lead you through Phipps’ cultural history as one of the nation’s first teaching glasshouse conservatories into a pace-setting model for advanced green building practices, sustainable development and environmental awareness.

For More Information on Carnegie Mellon Click Here

West Virginia Campus PRT System Tour

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  • Wednesday, October 12
  • 12:00pm - 6:00pm
  • Transportation provided
  • Limit TBD
  • Fee: $30.00

This tour will visit the only personal rapid transit (PRT) system in the United States that provides passenger choice destination service in a public transit mode. The PRT, an all electric driverless transit system, has been in operation over 37 years and has carried over 80 million passengers in accident free service. The PRT system is operated by West Virginia University and connects the University’s three campuses with downtown Morgantown.

The PRT is an essential part of the overall transportation network for a community that is challenged by a topography that limits contiguous campus and community development. Over 90% of passengers that use the PRT walk or bicycle to their stations. The tour will also include a visit to Mountaineer Station, an intermodal transportation center that connects the PRT with regional bus service, bicycles, and pedestrians, and intercepts vehicles before they reach key inner city congestion points. An overview of the WVU’s campus sustainability efforts such as the energy performance contract, campus recycling, trayless dining, and other initiatives will be presented.

Learn more about the West Virginia University and the PRT System.

University of Pittsburgh Tour of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and the Carrillo Street Steam Plant

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  • Wednesday October 12
  • 12:30pm - 4:30pm
  • Includes reception
  • Transportation provided
  • Limited to 30 conference attendees
  • Fee: $20.00

University of Pittsburgh is one of the leaders of Pittsburgh’s transition from one of the world’s most heavily industrialized cities to a model of green, post-industrial adaptation. Pitt researchers investigate and apply sustainable methods for powering and building our society. The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation is Pitt’s center for designing applications for sustainable communities and lifestyles.

Established in 2003, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation is a center of excellence in sustainable engineering focusing on the design of sustainable neighborhoods. Completed in 2009, The Pending LEED-Gold certification, the Mascaro Center’s new home includes 42,000 square feet of new and renovated space including the second floor of Pitt’s Benedum Hall, home of the Swanson School of Engineering. The new MCSI design embraces collaboration amongst disciplines and the layout helps to facilitate innovation across sectors.

The Mascaro Center space boasts open, adaptable areas flooded with natural light. The lighting and ventilation systems operate on motion sensors to automatically power-down and reduce energy consumption. In addition , the tour will feature research demonstrations performed by faculty and students within the Center, and highlight curriculum with the interdisciplinary research conducted through the Center’s NSF IGERT program.

Following this tour, a brief reception will be hosted at the Mascaro Center providing additional opportunity to meet some of Center’s associated faculty and students, and upon departing, take a short bus ride to the Carrillo Street Steam Plant, the only University plant in the country to have achieved an ultra-low Nox limit of 9 parts per million.

For More Information on University of Pittsburgh and the Mascaro Center Click Here

Off Campus Tour

Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water & Kentuck Knob

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A building should grace its environment rather than disgrace it. Frank Lloyd Wright, Hugh Downs interview, 1952

  • Sunday, October 9th 9:00am - 4:30pm
  • Fee: $120 includes boxed lunch and transportation
  • Limited to 50

Take a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, named by the AIA as the “all-time greatest work of American architecture” and considered a work of art itself. After your tour of Fallingwater a box lunch will be provided as you travel to your next sto Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kentuck Knob. In addition to touring another great example of Wright’s architecture, you’ll experience the art collection of current Kentuck Knob owner, Lord Peter Palumbo. Pieces of Lord Palumbo’s collection are found throughout the house as well as in the sculpture garden located on the surrounding grounds