HGA

Ford Hall is a 67,000-square-foot addition to Trafton Science Center that integrates sustainable design initiatives with architectural innovations, placing science, teaching and learning-and the building's energy infrastructure-on display. Additionally, Ford Hall is the first building in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system to fulfill the state's B3 Sustainable Building Guidelines (Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond), equivalent to LEED. The building includes faculty offices, teaching and research labs, gathering and study spaces, and light-filled circulation areas.

Sustainable Design

Ford Hall uses four Energy Recovery wheels to recover approximately 80 percent of the heat energy that would normally be exhausted. Other sustainable features include occupancy sensors in classrooms and offices that automatically turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms, extensive daylighting in public spaces and laboratories, and a rain garden that contributes to on-site storm-water infiltration and management. In addition, most interior finishes-carpet, resilient tile, and ceiling tile-contain recycled materials while 77 percent of construction waste was recycled.