UNO's Mammel Hall goes green

The newest building on UNO's campus is now also the greenest college building in the state.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha recently received word that Mammel Hall, the school's business college, will receive “gold” LEED certification.

LEED, formally known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the predominant way eco-friendly U.S. buildings are recognized. Several Nebraska colleges and universities have LEED “silver” buildings, but Mammel Hall is the first to receive a “gold” rating.

In fact, it is only the seventh building in Nebraska to get a gold rating.

The LEED success happened only after UNO's College of Business Administration and Holland Basham Architects partnered on a project that grew tedious at times, like when the architects ran 50 different computer simulations on the relative stain resistance and environmental impact of 50 kinds of carpet.

Now Louis Pol, UNO's business dean, is struck by how neatly the building's environmentally friendly nature and its attractiveness fit together.

“Students are drawn to structures like this, and part of the reason they are is that it's a sustainable building,” said Pol as he stood near Mammel Hall's entrance this week. “The light, the air, the large spaces — it helped us with LEED, and it keeps people connected to the college.”

A tour of Mammel Hall, near 67th and Pine Streets, shows that it's environmentally friendly in both obvious and not-so-obvious ways.

Plants and drought-resistant native grasses have been planted outside. This, coupled with smart landscaping, will halve the water needed for irrigation, says Timothy Holland, a co-founder of Holland Basham and one of the building's architects.

A soaring glass-and-tile atrium lets in large amounts of sunlight, and low-mercury content lighting provides the rest of the light needed. Some light bulbs will last for two decades.

Most classrooms feature “thin client” computers. One first-floor room has 30 such computers, which together use about as much energy as one regular computer, said building manager Dave Nielsen.

Many of the most environmentally friendly features are invisible to students, Holland said. Recycled materials make up nearly half of the construction materials used.

More than half of the wood used came from certified forests, a process meant to protect rainforests and minimize illegal logging.

Even the air is different — it's cleaner, thanks to the use of UV light air purifiers.

At $27 million, the 120,000-square-foot Mammel Hall wasn't cheap.

But architects and UNO officials say the green features will save money in the long run.

“The first question we always get is, ‘Well, how much is (a LEED design) going to cost?'” said Curtis Witzenburg, a Holland Basham architect. “Well, is that initial cost, or cost through the whole life cycle?”

“We're looking at a 75-year building here, at least,” Pol said.

Mammel Hall is a centerpiece in a UNO-wide environmental campaign. The university has switched to biodegradable flatware in its cafeteria, improved its recycling program and instituted building energy audits.

Since Mammel Hall opened in August, it has attracted thousands of nonbusiness UNO students, high schoolers and Omahans curious to see the new building, Pol said.

Professors, he said, have made suggestions about how to make the building even more energy-efficient.

And on a recent day, groups of students studied, socialized in hallways and lounged at tables scattered around the cafe.

“In the past, students were in and out as fast as they could go,” Pol said. “They don't do that any more. They stay here. They study here. They like being here.”

Said Nielsen: “They treat it like their home.”