(Fort Wayne, June 3, 2009) -- Plans for Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne's (IPFW's) Sustainable Construction and Renewable Energy Lab were revealed today by Regina Leffers, director of the Center for the Built Environment. The lab will be created by the massive remodeling of an existing 25,000 square foot building on the university's northeast campus.

"The university plans to make this a "positive energy" building, that is, one that uses renewable energy sources to create more than enough energy to supply itself and to share excess energy with neighboring buildings. This project includes a new feature for the Fort Wayne skyline: a utility grade wind turbine situated on our campus. Other renewable energy systems will be utilized as well, including a large variety of solar installations, geothermal products, and a residential sized wind turbine. The building site will also be "net-zero" for storm water output: all of the water that falls on the land will remain on the land. The water will be used in a grey water building system, filtered on site using natural biological systems, and will be able to make its way back to the water table," said Leffers.

This building will be green from the inside out. The building shell will be remade so that the energy that it takes to heat, cool, and light the building will be reduced to an absolute minimum. The building itself will do the lion's share of the work in terms of minimizing energy consumption, and the systems that augment the building air and light will be reduced by at least 70 percent of what an average 25,000 square foot building would use. This building will be an educational tool itself. All energy systems will be transparent, visible, and easy to understand.

The building will be a "living" example of sustainable construction, serving the community and student population in a variety of ways. Regional companies will be able to "plug in" their sustainable products to the building so that faculty and students can conduct research and discover product innovations.

It will also serve the community by providing educational meeting space for the Northeast Indiana Green Build Coalition (NEIGBC); the regional United States Green Build Council (USGBC); American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE); the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI); the Building Contractors Association (BCA), and other construction-related professional organizations.

Leffers added, "The building will be a model not only for IPFW and the Northeast Indiana region, but for all college and university campus buildings nationwide in terms of energy efficiency. The process of remaking this existing building in such a way that energy is generated and shared with neighboring buildings, and operating expenses are greatly reduced or eliminated except for maintenance, will generate ideas on how to proceed with existing and new campus buildings to achieve the same results."

For more information, contact Leffers at 260-481-6370 or leffersr@ipfw.edu.