By Farhin Lilywala

Galileo’s Pavilion is the college’s first environmentally sustainable building. Studio 804, a program consisting of KU graduate architecture students completed the construction for the building in 2012. The building was dedicated in June of last year.

“The building was meant to be a conversation starter about what a high performance building should be,” said Jay Antle, executive director, Center for Sustainability.

The Student Senate voted unanimously in favor of the project, said a case study done on Galileo’s Pavilion by The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). “The Student Sustainability Committee appropriated $150,000 from the student green fee toward construction, with an extra $50,000 allocated to cover contingencies. The remainder of the funds for the $700,000 building came from the college’s campus development and capital outlay funds.”

Features of Galileo’s Pavilion include solar panels, three floor-to-ceiling living green walls, LED lighting, rainwater irrigation, green roof trays to help keep the building ventilated, reclaimed glass windows, repurposed slate chalkboards, and a rain garden. Currently, Galileo’s Pavilion acts as a classroom and a lounge.

After its construction, Galileo’s Pavilion has received awards such as its most recent: a LEED platinum certificate, making it only the tenth LEED platinum building in the state of Kansas.

“Being named LEED platinum is kind of a big deal, but that building is not designed to win awards,” Antle said. “That building is really about starting conversations about opportunities for students to learn about high performance building technology, solar panels, wind turbines, water reclamation, green walls, use of daylighting…It makes things real.”

In December 2012, Dan Rockhill, executive director, Studio 804, addressed the board of trustees and former President Terry Calaway about some lingering payment issues.

After the building construction was completed, Rockhill said the project was over budget $163,000.

The question then was who will pay for the additional sum. This matter has been in discussion with the college’s attorneys and Studio 804’s counsel.

“There was no lawsuit; there was a dispute for an invoice that was submitted for an additional amount, said Tanya Wilson, college attorney, “We’ve reached an agreement on a fair payment, going forward; we’ve agreed to pay $50,000. Both the college and Studio 804 agreed that the matter is resolved.”

Contact Farhin Lilywala, news editor, flilywal@jccc.edu.

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