The 42,000 square foot mixed-curriculum facility provides an abundance of flexible high-tech collaboration spaces that allow for personal and group interaction between faculty and students. Each faculty office has a direct connection with a hearth space encouraging informal collaboration with students. The building complements and enhances the academic programs Willamette University provides; including facilities for Computer Science, Rhetoric, Math, Digital Art, Film Studies, and Music Lab.
Funding for this “100-year-building” was provided in large part by a generous contribution from the building’s namesake, Hallie B. Ford, with the intent to provide capacity for additional faculty. This building allows for state of the art improvements of University programs and accommodates 25 new faculty positions.
Sustainable Design Features:
Ford Hall received LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Some of the key sustainable design features of the building include:
• Meets 2030 Challenge with a 58% reduction in energy use
• 100 Year building – brick, stone, concrete, and copper
• Building orientation – natural light, high efficiency glazing, and sun control
• Automated lighting controls and daylight harvesting
• Displacement ventilation, high efficiency boiler, and heat recovery
• Hydronic radiant heating system
• Flow through storm water planters, drought resistant landscaping, and efficient irrigation
• On site renewable energy – thin-film photovoltaic array
• Trees from site milled for standing & running trim, mechanical grilles, and furniture
• Low-VOC carpets, paint, and adhesives
• Over 30% reduction in water usage
• Daylight & views for 90% of occupied spaces
• Over 95% of construction waste recycled