Good as Gold

The Treehouse has turned green into gold

September 23, 2008

Kristen Lee '10 helps as Elizabeth Schrang '09 hangs their clothes to dry in the Center for Sustainable Living, aka the Treehouse.

Dickinson College's Center for Sustainable Living student residence, commonly known as the Treehouse, recently received a gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Dickinson is the first college in Pennsylvania, and one of the first in the nation, to receive a gold rating for a student residence.

"This facility is one that the community can be proud of," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. He called the Treehouse "an inspiration for others."

The 11 student residents of the Treehouse have carbon-dioxide "footprints" that are half the size of the average Dickinson student, and during the course of an academic year they use 8,000 fewer gallons of water. Treehouse occupants use racks and clotheslines to dry their clothes and don't take showers lasting longer than three minutes. They use only fans in the summer to stay cool and in the winter set their thermostat no higher than 62 degrees. To match the sustainable behaviors of the students, the building features utility-saving devices and a real-time energy monitoring system.

The commitment extends beyond the house and into the yard, where native and adaptive plant species eliminate the need for potable water or pollution-causing maintenance.

Not that the Treehouse and its occupants are resting on their green laurels. This fall, the college plans to install photovoltaic cells on the Treehouse roof and a solar thermal device in the side yard. Invented by Associate Professor of Physics Hans Pfister, the solar thermal device will harvest the sun's energy to heat water for the center's heating and hot water systems. It currently sits atop the roof of Tome Hall.