The Delmar Loop recently added another building to its collection when Washington University opened the newly renovated Corner Building at the intersection of Delmar and Skinker boulevards in August.

The building opened after approximately three months of work. Still waiting to be added to the structure are seven roof-mounted wind turbines.

The building will house businesses in the ground floor and 16 apartments in the second and third stories. The wind turbines will have a production capacity of 14 megawatt-hours of power per year. The turbines that will be installed are smaller and quieter than traditional models.

The Corner Building joins a long list of University-owned or operated buildings that were designed or retrofitted with sustainability in mind, such as the Danforth University Center, Seigle Hall and South 40 House. Many building materials were reused in the renovations.

“Our rationale for actually doing the [Corner Building] was to continue the movement of the Delmar Loop east and create a positive and vibrant experience—pedestrian experience—for people in the loop as they move east,” said Mary Campbell, assistant vice chancellor for real estate. “Obviously, having that building sitting there vacant doesn’t help.”

Junior Peter Murrey, president of Green Action, said he believes the windmills on the Corner Building are a move in the right direction for the University.

“We’ve always been pushing for renewable energy on campus—be it solar, wind, geothermal,” Murrey said. “I’m really encouraged to see the University take these steps.”

Campbell emphasized that the project also shows the University’s support for its surrounding community.

“To the extent we could play a role in helping get that developed and helping be a catalyst for further development along Delmar, that’s something that we as a University should take a leadership role in doing, and we chose to do it,” Campbell said.

Murrey noted that sustainability needs to be an integral part of how the University interacts with the surrounding community.

“It sends a very good message to the community,” he said. “I think the best thing we can do is serve as a model for showing how to do these things right.”

A message about sustainability was a top priority in planning the project, Campbell said.

“We [wanted to] play somewhat of an R&D function and actually explore alternative technologies and aesthetically create something unique and interesting for the Loop,” she said. “That’s a role that we constantly research.”

To this end, Green Action will be hosting a statewide conference on climate-change and clean-energy policy called Power Shift, modeled after the national conference of the same name that took place last February. Green Action expects 750 Missouri students to attend.

Richard Axelbaum’s previous statement about energy—that there is no silver bullet to deal with the energy crisis—is accurate but can be expanded, Murray said.

Murrey said he believes that retrofitting the older buildings on campus and incorporating new technologies is important in addition to planning new buildings to be energy efficient.
“I would always love to see more,” Murrey said. “I’d be curious to see how [the Corner Building] fits into the University’s sustainability plan.”

Last November, proposition C passed, requiring 15 percent of Missouri’s power to come from renewable sources by 2021.

Murrey predicts that 15 percent of power will likely come from elsewhere in the state, like the northwestern part, which has better wind sources.

“St. Louis is an interesting place. We don’t have the room to make these big wind farms or solar farms,” he said. “I think the best thing we can do here is pump up as many small-scale projects as we can,” he said.

Still, Murrey stressed the importance of efficiency.

“The best unit of energy is the unit of energy you don’t use,” he said.

Murrey praised the University for its own efforts toward a more sustainable future, such as the dramatic reductions of energy loads from campus buildings.
“I think Wash. U. hasn’t really talked enough about how much it’s done with sustainability,” Murrey said. “It’s something to be proud of.”

5 Comments

• 

  On September 14, 2009 at 12:33 pm Jonathan March said

  “14 megawatt-hours of power per year”? That is an average power generation rate of 1600 Watts, or about 15 Amps out of the wall. This is the capacity of a single typical household circuit (one breaker switch), or enough to run one medium-sized space-heater around the clock. A commendable gesture? Perhaps. Sustainable? For a building of this size? Not even close. The impact of insulation and windows, and the building policy on “vampire” electronic devices, will be hundreds of times greater. A story like this contributes to delusional thinking about energy production and use.

• 

  On September 15, 2009 at 12:03 am matt said

  still better than nothing.

• 

  On September 16, 2009 at 1:30 pm Dan said

  Small wind generators like the ones to be installed are an important first step. Solar and wind will never fully replace conventional power generation due to the lack of constant wind or sun coverage. Installing a wind generator helps by setting an example for the community. Hopefully more will follow this example.

  The points on better insulation and conservation policies are well made.

  Dan
  BSME, 2004

• 

  On September 19, 2009 at 2:15 pm Jerome Howard Bauer said

  This looks like greenwash of the coal plant to be built on North Campus, on the very same block. Whatever happened to the sustainably designed graduate dormitory proposed for that spot, and the bike path that would have connected it to the Danforth Campus? North Campus is the perfect spot for a new dorm, right next to the Metrolink, two stops from the Medical and Danforth campuses. Now the University has to buy more apartment buildings for its students, contributing to the gentrification and company-town-ification of our neighborhood. The wind generators will no doubt contribute to a pleasant shopping experience on the Delmar Loop, encouraging our students to spend a lot of their parents’ money, or a lot of borrowed money, in upscale shops and restaurants. Surely this is what a University is for. Why bother to pretend otherwise?

  That having been said, Peter Murray’s praise of the University’s sustainability initiative is constructive. Every little bit helps, and setting a good example for the neighbors to follow is certainly one thing an educational institution should do.

  Lecturer Dr. Jerome Bauer
  local homeowner and taxpayer

• 

  On September 20, 2009 at 9:38 am Jerome Howard Bauer said

  PS. When i bought my house I was of the WashU gentry. Then, I could have afforded to make some sustainable improvements to my house, including weatherizing, rooftop solar panels, green roofing (perhaps), and hydroponic gardening in my basement. I researched all these options, in order to set a good example for my neighbors and students.

  Now, I am no longer of the gentry. I am an official hardship case, one of the subaltern class, having lost my salary and my health insurance, in the midst of a medical crisis that left me partially disabled (really, differently abled). I am in the same boat with so many others in my neighborhood, especially on the other side of Des Peres where the other subaltern still dwell. Is the University really trying to set a good example for US? Sure, let’s all put solar panels and wind generators on our roofs.

  Lecturer Dr. Jerome Bauer
  –who worked loyally for WashU’s Religious Studies, Focus, Social Thought and Analysis, and Faculty Associates Programs, 1999-2007, in a medical job lock situation, and still works here, on unpaid unofficial teaching sabbatical; an active resident member and Community Lecturer of the WashU Coop…

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Tags: corner building, Green Action, Mary Campbell, Wind turbines

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