Bunker Center at Calvin Garners Two Awards

June 8, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Nine months after it officially opened, Calvin College's Vincent and Helen
Bunker Interpretive Center has been honored with two prestigious environmental
awards, one national and one regional.

The first is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold
rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The second is a Blueprint Award from the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (to
be given on Thursday, June 9).

Both awards recognize the many environmentally friendly features incorporated
into the 5,270-square-foot Interpretive Center, which was dedicated on
September 10, 2004 and welcomes and educates area visitors, many of them
schoolchildren, to Calvin's 90-acre Ecosystem Preserve.

Calvin architect Frank Gorman, the designer of the Bunker Center, says both
awards are significant honors.

"They affirm," says Gorman, "that Calvin College is on the cutting edge of
sustainable construction practices and is sensitive to current national
environmental issues."

The Gold rating is the second highest level of certification granted by the
LEED Green Building Rating System, a national standard for developing
high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED standards award points for every
aspect of a building's sustainability: design; site; water efficiency; energy
and atmosphere; materials; and indoor environmental quality.

The Interpretive Center is one of only two U.S. facilities of higher
education, one of only four buildings in Michigan and one of only 67 buildings
in the nation to earn a LEED Gold designation.

The Blueprint Awards recognize "persons, companies, agencies, municipalities
or organizations that have helped advance the Blueprint vision: compact,
livable communities; regional centers of employment; retention of open lands
and well designed transportation and transit systems."

"We're very appreciative and very proud that we have a project that's been
honored nationally and locally," Gorman says.

The Interpretive Center (built by Wolverine Construction Management and named
for its lead donor, Helen Bunker, and her husband) was designed to exist
harmoniously in the preserve environment. The building provides space for
meetings, educational programs and displays, offices and a biology classroom.

A self-sustaining entity, the center is independent of the city's sewer system
and primarily solar powered. Much of the material that went into the
facility-including paneling, insulation and interior trim-is recycled. Gray
water (used water) from the center's sinks recycles back into the preserve, and
waste is handled by composting toilets. And the landscaping is comprised of
indigenous species grown in the preserve itself.

In addition to providing classroom and study space for Calvin students, the
Ecosystem Preserve regularly hosts classes from Grand Rapids-area schools as
well as providing programming for children. Since the Interpretive Center
opened, the preserve has doubled the number of visitors it attracts.

"This building is a tool to help people to better understand the environment
and concepts of sustainability," Gorman says. "It's a pleasant building
environment in a sylvan setting with interest for Calvin students, high school,
middle school and elementary students from around the area, and other visitors
to our campus."

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Received on Wed Jun 8 16:24:33 2005