The College Fix

Considered sacred in ancient Egypt, the lotus is a distinctive pink flower that can be made up of as many as 1,000 different petals. For modern day Stanford students David Geeter and Alexander Luisi, the lotus flower has assumed a new role: that of both the symbolic inspiration and namesake for the proposed “green dorm,” now dubbed Lotus One.

But at an estimated $10 million cost to house 40 students, the project’s timing has raised questions about the real value of going green.

Geeter and Luisi are the co-authors of the current “Lotus One proposal,” a general plan that represents the latest development in the greater green dorm project that can be traced back as early as 2003.

“With the amount of support we received on both the faculty and student end, coupled with the fact that the University had previously committed to this project, I am pretty confident that [Lotus One] will move forward,” said Geeter.

This “previous commitment” is a reference to the Stanford’s 2006 offer to cover half of the green dorm project’s $10 million upfront cost. That offer later was retracted due to the subsequent economic downturn. And now, Lotus One finds itself in the same position it was prior to 2006: seeking funds.

Contrary to recent reports that have suggested a 2011 start date for construction, however, administrators do not project Lotus One entering the building stage until 2014, at the earliest.

“(The Green Dorm) is…waiting for fundraising to be complete for the project to move forward. Currently the plan is for the project to be held until about 2014,” said Stephanie Kalfayan, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, in an email to the Review.

As of August 2010, the plan estimates half of the projected $10 million cost for Lotus One will come from private donations. Geeter and Luisi are hoping that Stanford will commit $5 million towards Lotus One, as was offered in ‘06.

“It’s really about the money at this point,” Luisi said.

“This is a project that, in concept, has approval — the university wants to go forward,” Kalfayan said about the green dorm. “But in times of constrained financial resources, we can’t put a shovel in the ground until we have the money available.”

The timing of the construction has raised concerns about what the green dorm aims to accomplish, however. Luisi stands firm by his team’s desire to have Lotus One built as soon as possible.

“If we (build Lotus One) now, we’re going to be trailblazers,” he said. “We’re going to be able to test our ideas and bring these ideas out, and have the students and the university help shape the direction of the (green building) market.”

With the green building industry expected to grow significantly over the next several years, deferring construction could reduce construction costs on an already expensive project.

In 2006, EHDD Architecture conducted a Feasibility Study on Stanford’s proposed green dorm. In particular, study examined the proposed building as a “Zero Carbon” building, meaning the dorm would eliminate net carbon emissions via operational and embodied energy use.

As pointed out in the study, however, Zero Carbon buildings are also associated with “significantly higher construction costs.” And for a building the size of Stanford’s proposed green dorm, these higher construction costs translate into a rate of around $500 per square foot.

The study concludes that the pay back rate for the proposed green dorm would be about 30 years. Life-cycle costs of the green dorm would reach lower levels than that of a conventional row house after the house operated for over 50 years.

Despite the anticipated costs, Luisi maintained confidence in the decision to push forward.

“We could wait, and that might be more economical,” he said. “But if we wait, we’re not going to be on the cutting edge anymore.”

Some on also those who caution against placing too high of a priority on the construction of a green dorm at the potential expense of other sustainability issues still at hand. Among these is Teryn Norris ‘11, president and founder of Americans for Energy Leadership.

“To the extent that we need to build a new dorm, we should incorporate sustainability practices and design into that dorm,” said Norris. “But we shouldn’t imagine that having a green dorm is nearly enough to make progress on a lot of the sustainability issues that we need to.”

For Norris, the areas that deserve an increased focus are Stanford’s energy curriculum, research programs, and commercialization programs. Norris believes there can play the biggest and most effective role in addressing today’s environmental challenges.

“Perhaps the Lotus One has taken too much symbolism and importance,” he said.

John Leganski is a staff writer for the Stanford Review and a student at Stanford University.

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