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• Spotlight On: York College of Pennsylvania Engineering Innovation Center
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Spotlight On: York College of Pennsylvania Engineering Innovation Center

Project Location: 725 Grantley Road, York PA 17403

Thanks to Jason P. Rogers, Project Engineer, and Shane Boyer, Project Manager, Kinsley Construction, Inc., and Amy Meyers, LEED AP, Architectural Project Manager, LSC Design, for their contributions to this article.

Clerestory of old building and new addition match. Parking lot base was recycled pavement.

What's the value of green building in a community? More than the resulting efficiency and cost savings, green building can contribute to a community's pride and character. This is not just a “warm and fuzzy” effect but a catalyst to attract more visitors, businesses and residents. Kinsley Construction, Inc. demonstrated this with its green renovation of the York Narrow Fabrics Company factory, into the York College of Pennsylvania Engineering Innovation Center.

Light Tan roof does not absorb as much heat as a dark roof.

Kinsley Construction, Inc., a design/build, construction management and full-service general contracting firm in the mid-Atlantic region, has committed to green building throughout the firm. Thirty-five of Kinsley's employees are Green Advantage-Commercial (GA-C) Certified. The GA training is an indicator of the change within the company from management down to building superintendents and estimators. Kinsley has worked on half-dozen or more projects seeking LEED certification, so as a company they are learning to become greener, both in the classroom and in the field.

Clerestory of old building and new addition match. Parking lot base was recycled pavement.

The York College of Pennsylvania Engineering Innovation Center was an opportunity to implement green building in Kinsley's hometown of York, Pennsylvania. The building is a local landmark, located in a visible area between the east and west campuses of York College, and along a heavily used rail-trail system. York College purchased the building in 2006 to combine the three Engineering Departments – Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Sciences – into one facility, thereby encouraging collaboration and the sharing of ideas and resources. York College invited Kinsley, a trusted partner of the college, and LSC Design to determine whether the existing building could be retained. This team introduced the idea of renovating the structure as LEED-certified.

The college was receptive to the idea, realizing the opportunity as a recruiting tool: prospective students had been asking about the college's environmental policies and whether any campus buildings were built green.

Fluorescent lighting is all controlled by occupancy sensors. Murals show building as it was years ago. The wood windows in the front of the building were refurbished.

A green building approach brought new challenges. The 24-hour use of a college building means that water and energy demands are even higher relative to other commercial buildings. The project team and York College developed a green approach with three key elements central to the project green design:

• Bring natural light into the interior classrooms

• Expose the “ceilingscape”; that is, all engineering and building systems, including electrical, plumbing, and lighting, are left exposed, thereby using less material for interior finishes and creating an industrial feel
• Expose the existing ceiling by removing layers of paint to expose the roof deck made from yellow pine

Exposed pine ceiling with exposed spiral ductwork. Each classroom has a heat pump in a closet.

Kinsley tackled the first element through the use of double-walled clerestory windows and glass walls that reflect natural light far into the interior spaces. The second element required outreach to all subcontractors at the start to explain that their work would be on display. Once the subcontractors understood the visibility of their work, their excitement built along with their pride in their work and ownership of the project.

To tackle the existing painted ceiling, the project team blasted the old paint with ground corn cobs then sealed the ceiling with shellac. The ground corn cobs provide an abrasive that is biodegradable and soft enough to remove the paint without damaging the rich warmth of the old pinewood as the more traditional sand blasting would have.

Cable tray visible. Orange is fiber optic, blue is Ethernet. Building has wireless access as well. Skylight was added to meet light requirements for the space. Lower right shows the original scale, which was welded to keep it from moving.

The college faculty was very involved throughout the design and building of the center, and became some of the most vocal spokespeople about the building's sustainable features. The building itself showcases both the historic elements and the sustainable innovations. The project team kept the large rolling doors, the lathe, tensile strength tester, and Toledo scale, while incorporating photos of the looms and factory workers alongside the very visible cutting-edge green elements. A professional photographer and relative of the original owner of the York Narrow Fabrics building provided large-format photography murals depicting the building's past use, reminding the students of the city of York’s rich industrial heritage. The remainder of the machinery was turned over to the York Heritage Trust, as significant exhibits of York's role in the Industrial Revolution.

Mural shows spools of thread. Carpeting in meeting room is made partly from recycled materials.

The new building includes computer labs, department-specific laboratories, classrooms, a student community area with a small vending area and study nooks, faculty offices and administration, a conference room, a shop for both metal and wood fabrication, and the various restrooms, and mechanical, electrical, and data closets that support the facility.

Wheat board walls with plastic lumber end caps

In addition to these primary elements, the Engineering Center featured these green practices:

1. The new drywall scraps were recycled locally, which cost roughly half of what it would cost to dispose of in a landfill. Metal and cardboard were recycled as well. The waste stream diverted from the landfill was in excess of 85%.
2. The existing interior windows as well as sliding barn doors were reused.
3. A majority of the concrete floors were sealed instead of carpeted or tiled, which helped to reduce the off-gassing that can occur with other materials.
4. All paints, sealants, and adhesives were either zero or low VOC.
5. The insulation used on this project is recycled cotton fiber from the making of denim. This created no airborne particulates, could be handled without gloves, and provides excellent sound attenuation and R-value.
6. Recycled plastic commingled lumber was used for window sills, corner bumpers, and end caps.
7. All millwork was construction using formaldehyde-free, no urea-added materials.
8. The classroom entrances were covered in pressed wheat board, a rapidly renewable and recycled material.
9. The use of natural light combined with efficient lighting fixtures controlled by occupancy sensors helps reduce the energy costs of this building.
10. Water use was reduced through dual flush low volume toilets and hands free water reduction sink fixtures.

Plastic lumber display rails This wall was built "inside" of the clerestory and forms the back side of the classrooms. The light comes in the clerestory and some goes through the windows shown here to light the hallway, while some is reflected off the wall back into the classroom.

The design of this building should ultimately achieve Silver LEED certification. The Silver LEED certification is a major advertising benefit to the college and was achieved through vigilant subcontractors and careful material choices. The renovation took longer than a teardown and the project team faced a lot of unknowns. But with the college's understanding and support the result was worth it. The building demonstrates the pride and ownership of the builders and users and creates a community asset for generations to come.

Original scale refurbished and relocated.

Mural showing scale and bins of cloth tape. Cloth "tape" was used to strengthen seams of uniforms on the inside.

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