At Georgia Tech, Innovation spreads like wild…flowers and The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design is no exception. Take a look at how the state-of-the-art facility is planting ideas across campus and beyond.
Compiled by: Cathy Brim
Illustrations by: Charlie Layton
Super Energy Saver
The Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory uses The Kendeda Building as a living, learning lab to research demand response techniques that shift energy use throughout the day. This energy flexibility can relieve the burden on electrical grids during times of high activity. The team is also analyzing the building’s heat pumps and how they could be used in other buildings to potentially decarbonize campus energy use.
Ramped-up Recycling
The Kendeda Building serves as the location for pilot programs of hard-to-recycle materials. A plastic film/bag recycling pilot was so successful that there is now an additional drop-off location at the post office inside Exhibition Hall.
Compost Role Model
A program for collecting yard trimmings and leaves around The Kendeda Building for composting and converting into mulch is ongoing and may expand to other areas of campus.
A Teaching Moment
Serve-Learn-Sustain, in partnership with the Office of Campus Sustainability and the Global Change Program, piloted The Kendeda Building Teaching Fellows Program. Fellows have developed a community of practice on how to integrate the Living Building Challenge categories and the building into teaching.
Beyond Books
Through The Kendeda Building, college students throughout Georgia can now earn Georgia Urban Naturalist Certification. The course explores the associations between nature, the built environment, and our role as humans within both.
Remote Control
Kendeda was the first building on campus to use an AV over IP signal. One AV equipment rack controls the entire building, reducing energy consumption. All of the building’s AV devices can be remotely managed, saving time and transportation costs. These AV solutions have also led to new standards on campus.
Teaming Up
Students engage with The Kendeda Building each semester through Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) teams. The Building for Equity and Sustainability team focuses on how to push the envelope on equity as a core component of the sustainable built environment. The Living Building Science team studies the building’s systems and how they can be improved.
Energy Forward
With the success of The Kendeda Building’s energy systems, engineers on campus are analyzing how to scale these systems and incorporate them holistically into the next campus master plan.