Willamette University’s Ford Hall is a State of the Art Academic Building in Oregon

<a href="http://www.willamette.edu/" target="_blank">Willamette University's</a> newest academic building, <a href="http://www.willamette.edu/news/library/2010/02/ford_hall.html" target="_blank">Ford Hall</a>, was built to blend in with the rest of the historic brick campus but was also designed to be state of the art and environmentally sustainable. Willamette University hired Portland-based <a href="http://www.henneberyeddy.com/" target="_blank">Hennebery Eddy Architects</a> to design the new cross-disciplinary building, which has achieved a LEED Gold certification and received a <a href="http://architecture2030.org/" target="_blank">2030 Challenge</a> Design Award.

Completed in 2009, the <a href="http://www.willamette.edu/news/library/2010/02/ford_hall.html" target="_blank">LEED Gold Ford Hall</a> is now home to unusual mix of departments including mathematics, rhetoric and media studies, computer science, film studies, Russian and digital arts and music.

The three story building was designed to match the surrounding campus and makes use of brick, limestone, and copper.

Passive solar design strategies were employed to minimize energy use and take advantage of the sun.

Oriented to the along an east/west axis, the building takes in natural daylighting on the south and north and minimizes solar heat gain on the east and west.

Shade devices and fritted glass on the sun facing facades minimize direct sunlight and heat gain as well. Meanwhile a 40-ft long clerestory window on the roof pulls light into the central atrium.

Natural daylighting is combined with a high performance envelope, automatic lighting, controls, occupancy sensors, operable windows, and an energy efficient displacement ventilation HVAC system to reduce energy use.

A 26.8-kilowatt <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_film_solar_cell" target="_blank">thin film photovoltaic</a> system installed on the roof generates 3.5% of the building's needs and is helping the university achieving their goal of powering the campus with 15% from renewable sources.

Around the building, new native and drought-tolerant landscaping reduces irrigation needs by 50% and low flow fixtures reduce water usage indoors.

Ground floor plan.

Second floor plan.

Third floor plan.

Daylighting and natural ventilation strategies.