The University will soon open its first energy-efficient residential building on campus. Cypress Hall will start housing students in Fall 2015.
Cypress Hall will receive a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Sliver certification for its energy efficiency. The building will will boast several features like collecting rain water for irrigation and shaded windows that limit heat gain from the sun.
The new features will not only be eco-friendly, but also financially beneficial. Res Life Executive Director Steven Waller says the features will help keep the cost of student rent from rising.
“It’s not a significant increase in cost in the construction stand point, but the savings you get for the long term of the building in energy savings and utilities savings are significant,” Waller said.
Currently, the building is 60 percent completed. The majority of the exterior of the building is complete and all of the Utilities have been installed. Contractors are now working on sheet rocking, painting and tiling the rooms.
The building will be a residential college for the Human Sciences and Education College and will house 330 students.
As construction ends on Cypress Hall, the process will soon begin for another hall. The provisionally named Magnolia Hall is scheduled to open in Fall 2017 and will be located on the north side of cypress Hall.