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Kellogg

Kellogg’s New Home Showcases Sustainable Design

We took nothing lightly in creating the best building envelope for the site and for Kellogg. We tried to be responsible citizens by striving for sustainability in ways that made sense for the school and Northwestern.”

Leann Paul, project consultant

When it opens in 2017, the Kellogg School of Management’s new state-of-the-art Global Hub will be one of Northwestern’s most environmentally friendly buildings. The business school’s new home reflects the principles of sustainability and efficiency and showcases sustainable design.

The building is on track for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council thanks to a number of green features. These include a geothermal system for heating and cooling and one of the largest installations of LED lights in the country.

“We took nothing lightly in creating the best building envelope for the site and for Kellogg,” says Leann Paul, project consultant managing the design and construction of the new facility. “We tried to be responsible citizens by striving for sustainability in ways that made sense for the school and Northwestern.”

The building design will reduce energy consumption at least 30 percent below local code requirements. A geothermal system will tap into the earth’s constant temperature to provide primary heating and cooling for the new six-story building. While not a first for Northwestern, the Kellogg building’s geothermal system is the school’s largest. Installation involved the drilling of 70 wells almost 600 feet down into bedrock. The system sits under an adjacent recreational playing field.

Another distinctive energy-saving feature will be extensive LED lighting. LED technology uses at least 75 percent less energy than incandescent lighting, according to ENERGY STAR, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The lakeside building will contain some 6,000 LED lighting fixtures.

Additional “green” building elements will include:

  • Light-colored roofing material to reduce solar heat gain
  • Triple-glazed windows for more efficient heating and cooling
  • Automated window shades programmed for sun and shade control
  • Low-flow plumbing fixtures to conserve water
  • Daylight sensors to minimize artificial lighting
  • A ground water reservoir for landscape irrigation
  • Recycling bins for paper, glass, metal 

The building will add to Northwestern’s portfolio of LEED-certified projects, which includes Harris Hall, the Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, and the Segal Visitor’s Center.

Photo credit: Kellogg School of Management