LEED Certification
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The proposed library embraces a contemporary approach to design, with strong “inside-outside” relationships. Planners have worked diligently to create a facility that lends functional outdoor spaces with inviting interior views, and wrapped them together into an environmentally friendly package.
Facing Pitts Dining Hall, the building’s entrance reinforces its relationship to a new North Plaza, a carefully planned venue that supplies casual seating and student gathering space under a robust assortment of shade trees. Adjacent to the library’s southern exposure is the East Lawn, featuring a covered walkway and pathways leading toward east campus.
Both new outdoor spaces will be clearly visible from inside the new building, thanks to the structure’s strategic use of glass.
To ensure the Lewis Library is in harmony with its natural environment, the building will achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED is the nationally accepted rating system for high-performance sustainable structures.
What do de mean by sustainable?
Sustainability aims to leave the next generation a planet better than today’s. By constructing a “green” library, the College will minimize the facility’s environmental impact.
The library’s design features many environmentally responsible features:
- Recycled and energy-efficient construction materials
- Dual-flush toilets and waterless urinals, reducing water usage by 30 percent
- Designated parking spaces for carpool and fuel-efficient vehicles
- Daylight available to 75 percent of its visitors
- Ample use of shade trees
When it opens, the Lewis Library will be one of a handful of LEED-certified academic libraries in the nation, bringing LaGrange College nearer to its vision of providing Georgia a premier private liberal arts and sciences institution.
