Several years ago, the Rubenstein School community, along with William Maclay Architects & Planners of Waitsfield, Vermont, created a vision for a renovated George D. Aiken Center, designed for more efficient space, sustainability, and a reduced ecological footprint. In January, 2012, the renovation was completed.  The green renovation of the Aiken Center blends ecologically designed systems and advanced technology to clean and renew the building's air and water, naturally light the interior, and house occupants and greet visitors in a welcoming, healthy, and stimulating environment.

The School will educate a new generation of ecologically literate citizens who understand the "environmental costs" of traditional construction and building operations and the benefits of designing and living within a space integrated with and connected to ecological systems. The renovated Aiken Center is a harbinger of a sustainable future, a "Green Beacon" for the University and Burlington communities and their visitors.

View the March 2013 UVM Extension Across the Fence video on the Aiken Eco-Machine.

Read the November 2012 Burlington Free Press "I Believe" essay by Research Associate Gary Hawley on the Greening of Aiken.

View UVM Communications Fall 2012 story and slideshow on the Aiken Green Roof installation "Aiken's Green Roof" featuring research associate Gary Hawley.

View the Fall 2012 story and photos of the Aiken Green Roof installation by WCAX-TV "Rooftop Lessons at UVM."

Read the Fall 2012 update on the Aiken Eco-Machine by research specialist Matt Beam "Eco-Machine Ramp-Up."

Read the Spring 2012 Vermont Quarterly article "Renovated Aiken a Model of Efficiency".

Read The Chronicle of Higher Education article on the green renovated Aiken Center by Scott Carlson, March 4, 2012.

Read about "Reborn Aiken Center an Energy Star; Servies as National Model for Green Renovations" by Jeffrey Wakefield of University Communications, January 13, 2012.

Watch a video of the process of certified wood from Jericho Research Forest to finished Aiken Center.

View photos of the Aiken Center renovation progress.

View photos of the Aiken Center timber harvest at Jericho Research Forest.

Watch a video of the Aiken Center timber harvest at Jericho Research Forest.

View a UVM Extension Across the Fence video on the Aiken Center, featuring Rubenstein School greening coordinator Gary Hawley and students Matt Beam and Casey Cullen. wmv (122MB) | mp4 (246MB)

Green features include:

• Eco-Machine^TM natural wastewater treatment system in a functional, multi-purpose solarium;
• Waterless/low-flow fixtures with a projected 52% less water use over similar-sized conventional buildings;
• Green roof, designed for testing micro-watershed strategies for stormwater managment;
• High performance building envelope and windows to create a building that is 62% more energy efficient than the original building;
• Enchanced natural ventilation and natural lighting;
• State-of-the-art green conference room to support experiential education and community service courses;
• Environmental/energy monitoring systems, providing efficiency data to all via the web;
• Local, renewable, recycled, and recyclable building materials and furnishings, including FSC-certified wood from Jericho Research Forest; and
• LEED Gold building rating, with a goal to achieve LEED Platinum, signifying one of the greenest renovated buildings in the nation.

Student involvement

Students actively worked together with faculty and staff in pursuit of one of the nation's greenest academic buildings in the following ways:

• Attending classes and presentations on the Green Aiken Center;
• Working directly with William Maclay Architects and Planners and;
• Working on projects such as:
  • designing a green roof,
  • designing alternative energy systems,
  • calculating projected building energy savings,
  • designing waste treatment systems,
  • designing monitoring systems,
  • designing a vermi-composting system to compost occupants' food wastes,
  • incorporating art into the Aiken Center,
  • designing landscape plans that incorporate local, native plantings, and
  • helping to manage FSC-certified timber used in the renovation project.

Links

• U.S. Green Building Council
• William Maclay Architects and Planners

Make a gift to the Greening of Aiken

To make a gift by check, please make your check payable to The University of Vermont, RSENR and designate it to Greening of Aiken. Send your gift to:

The University of Vermont Foundation
ATTN: Sarah Sprayregen
Grass Mount
411 Main Street
Burlington, VT 05401

802-656-3251
Sarah.Sprayregen

To make a secure gift online, link to UVM's alumni and friends giving page at: https://alumni.uvm.edu/giving/support.asp. Be sure to designate your gift to The Rubenstein School Greening of Aiken!

For more information about giving, please contact Sarah Sprayregen at (802) 656-3251 or Sarah.Sprayregen@uvm.edu.

For more information about the green renovation of the Aiken Center, please contact Gary Hawley at (802) 656-2512 or Gary.Hawley@uvm.edu.