This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Local Voices

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE'S BORELLI HALL RECEIVES LEED SILVER CERTIFICATE

St. Thomas Aquinas College’s Borelli Hall was recently designated as a Silver Certificate LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building, announces Dr. Margaret Fitzpatrick, S.C., president of the College.  LEED is a ratings system that certifies buildings as meeting established standards of energy sustainability and environmental friendliness, both in their interior environments and in their effect on the surrounding ecology.

 

The College opened Borelli Hall in 2011.  The building was designed by Arcari & Iovino Architects, based in Little Ferry, NJ, and Anthony Iovino was the lead architect on the project.  During the planning and construction phases, the team was focused on designing a building with sustainability environmental friendliness in mind.

Find out what's happening in Nanuetwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

“Borelli Hall serves as a model of sustainability for future work at STAC.  While it is commendable to have achieve a LEED rating at the new building it is equally admirable for today’s generation of students to incorporate a Green approach to the overall use of the campus.  This new building demonstrates the College’s commitment to that approach,” Iovino reflected. 

Find out what's happening in Nanuetwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Borelli Hall’s Green features include water efficient landscaping, water use reduction, optimized energy performance, cork floors, thermal control design, use of recycled content, paints and sealants that have low emitting gases and sensor controlled LED lighting, among others.

“The building has sophisticated mechanical systems that are highly efficient and tight exterior envelop that is well insulated to minimize thermal loss.  Throughout the building materials were utilized that produce low off-gassing and use less energy and water than standard fixtures.  In my mind, Borelli Hall was meant to symbolize the spirit of STAC and reflect its stewardship of the environment,” added Iovino.

 

One of the initiatives of the College’s National Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility is sustainability and climate change.  The commitment to design a Green building in Borelli Hall is one of the various ways the College is contributing to this initiative.

 

“Our goal was to design a LEED certified building to align with the College’s efforts to be a leader in area of sustainability.  Receiving the LEED Silver Certificate is proof that the time and resources we dedicated were well worth the effort and the recognition is appreciated,” said Fitzpatrick.  “We are educators and try to lead our students by example.  We are committed to making strides in sustainability as a College community through advocacy and action and Borelli Hall is a prime example of our efforts,” added Fitzpatrick.

 

The building is named for Madlyn and Frank J. Borelli and was funded as the primary goal of the College’s Capital Campaign which concluded in 2012.  Borelli Hall is a state-of-the-art professional building showcasing the Schools of Business and Education.  Four multi-faceted, technologically sophisticated classrooms enhance the teaching and learning experience.  The President, several Vice Presidents and their staffs, and the Business and Human Resources offices are also housed in the building. 

 

More about LEED

LEED was created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 to promote sustainable, environmentally friendly building design. A building or construction project that receives a sufficiently high score on the USBGC's LEED checklist is awarded a certificate signifying its level of compliance with the LEED standards. Depending on the degree to which a building project meets the standards, it can be awarded anything from a simple certificate for a minimum level of compliance to a platinum certificate for meeting the highest possible standards.

 

The LEED rating system for construction projects is based on a checklist specifically designed for the type of project (commercial building, renovation, control and maintenance, neighborhood design, home construction) being rated.  The criteria for these ratings were developed by a consensus of experts in the building and development field. They reflect current knowledge of best practices in green construction and are evolving over time as practices change, new technologies evolve, and environmental needs are better understood.  The criteria for these ratings were developed by a consensus of experts in the building and development field. They reflect current knowledge of best practices in Green construction and are evolving over time as practices change, new technologies evolve, and environmental needs are better understood.

 

St. Thomas Aquinas College is an independent liberal arts college located on 60 acres in Rockland County, NY which provides education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College’s 2,800 full and part time students can choose from more than 100 different majors, minors, specializations, and dual degree programs across three Schools: Arts & Sciences, Business, and Education. The College is recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the Top-Tier for Regional Universities, by Colleges of Distinction in both its New York and Catholic editions, by Affordable Colleges Online as a top College in New York for Return on Investment, and is included as a Military Friendly School®. St. Thomas Aquinas College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; its School of Education is accredited by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE); and its School of Business is accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). For more information, visit www.stac.edu.

Contact:   Danielle N. Kobryn at 845.398.4016 or dkobryn@stac.edu


We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?