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Update: Joan Clark Davis Center for Interdisciplinary Learning
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As enrollment demand continues to grow, the Joan Clark Davis Center for Interdisciplinary Learning will add 15,000 square feet of durable, efficient, sustainable, flexible space to WT’s urban campus that supports the health of its occupants and adds value to the community. From the beginning, the Board of Trustees Buildings and Grounds Committee has been committed to using the Passive House/high-efficiency design standards as guiding principles.
Given the age of WT’s current buildings, it was important to be intentional in making decisions for this new addition to our campus. Therefore, we are working to ensure that our community experiences improved indoor air quality, more efficient heating and cooling, reduced water consumption, and less reliance on natural gas while also being good stewards of the school’s financial resources.
When it opens to the WT Community in Fall 2023, the Davis Center will boast:
• triple-pane windows that reduce energy consumption and provide sound dampening
• clean, fresh air filtered through MERV 13 filters and funneled into the building on demand by CO2 sensors
• a projected EUI (Energy Usage Intensity) of 38 kBtu/ ft2 per year, which is 62% less than the average Pittsburgh K-12 school building
• a building-wide water filtration system
• roof infrastructure that can accommodate solar panels at some point in the future.
Shortly after acquiring the Davis Center property, WT partnered with Construction Junction to deconstruct over 65 types of materials, including lights, ceiling tiles, sinks, toilets, mirrors, doors, wooden flooring, and tin ceiling, that were recycled and sold in their store. Additionally, the demolition crew recycled over 360 tons of building materials (i.e., wood, metal, brick, and concrete) that were diverted from landfills.
WT's planning and work has led to a building that already meets or exceeds green building certification programs such as LEED.
The Davis Center is expected to open to WT employees this summer.
