St. Louis, Mo., April 12, 2021 – Trivers and S. M. Wilson & Co.’s Washington University January Hall project received LEED Platinum certification for its green building practices, commitment to environmental responsibility and overall sustainability.
Located on the University’s historic Danforth Campus, January Hall was originally built in 1922 as Washington University’s School of Law. As part of the University’s long-term effort to revive legacy buildings, January Hall received an extensive renovation which included the addition of a new 22-seat seminar room on the lower level and new restrooms as well as renovations and reconfigurations of administrative offices, classrooms and the East Asian Library. The original Moot Court and lecture hall is now an Active Learning classroom with highly flexible seating arrangements and integrated technology.
To enhance the energy performance of the building, the renovations included adding a second layer of interior glazing to the existing leaded glass windows, insulation of certain exterior walls, and a new mechanical system with energy recovery and demand-control. Interior finishes were selected to support sustainability and human health goals by prioritizing recycled content, environmental reporting, low-VOC, and Red List (banned chemicals) free materials. The building now houses offices and teaching space for Washington University’s professional and continuing education division, University College.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
Trivers served as the Architect of Record and S. M. Wilson the Construction Manager. During the design and construction, the team worked together along with Hellmuth+Bicknese Architects, Sustainability Consultant, to ensure that sustainable elements of the project were prioritized and retained to achieve LEED Platinum, the highest LEED certification. January Hall received the following notable sustainable accomplishments:
- Washington University’s first project certified under LEED v4
- Achieving all possible points in Optimize Energy Performance with 35% energy savings
- Verified construction and demolition waste management achieving 96.3% diversion
- Storage and collection of recyclables
- Long-term commitment with enhanced commissioning and advanced energy metering
- Indoor water use reduction of 46.5%
In 1975, Trivers was founded on values that still characterize the firm today: creating architecture of lasting positive consequence. In a city renowned for its historic architecture, but in severe need of restoration and fresh ideas, we established a reputation for thoughtful design that responded to context. Our early focus on historic renovation and adaptive reuse rapidly grew to include ground up construction. Today, while continuing our commitment to St. Louis, we work for a range of clients across the country from government to hospitality to education to business to cultural and civic. For more information, visit www.trivers.com.
S. M. Wilson is a full-service construction management, design/build and general contracting firm with headquarters in St. Louis and offices in Cape Girardeau, MO and Edwardsville, IL. Founded in 1921, and celebrating its 100th year of serving the community, S. M. Wilson is dedicated to going above and beyond expectations for their clients by putting people first. The 100% employee-owned company is one of the leading construction management firms in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.smwilson.com.