Kalamazoo College

Hicks Student Center Renovation

The Hicks Student Center, the first LEED (Silver) certified New Construction project in Kalamazoo, is considered the living room of campus. Originally constructed in the 1930's, the Welles Dining Room houses a historically significant plaster fresco mural and was not handicap accessible.

This two phase project included the partial demolition, reconstruction and renovation of the existing 80,000 square foot building. Miller-Davis worked with Tower Pinkster architects and JDH engineers to provide the student population with a facility that supports the education process, is handicapped accessible, energy sufficient and achieves U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating.

LEED certification of the Hicks Center was based on numerous green design and construction features that positively impacted the project itself and the broader community. These features include:

90% of construction waste was diverted from landfills

42% of the building's energy is provided through the local utility company's green energy program

89% of the existing building structure was preserved

41% of the building materials were from within 500 miles of the project

36% of the building materials used were recycled or rapidly-renewable products

40% water savings was achieved through use of waterless urinals and low-flow fixtures

Miller-Davis was a winner of a 2009 Aon Build America Award, the construction industry's "Oscars", from the Associated General Contractors of America, as well as a winner of a 2008 Build Michigan Award from the Associated General Contractors of Michigan for the Hicks Student Center.

Listen to a podcast on the student lead LEED-Certification initiative >

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