Online Press Room: Talking About Howard Hall

Thomas Hacker, design principal, Thomas Hacker Architects

The building is all about teaching, and promoting teaching and learning on several levels: well-designed, ergonomic and humane classrooms, spaces designed to work from a human and technical standpoint. There is a great focus on how people interact and where they see and meet each other. This building is designed for student and faculty interaction, on both a social and intellectual level - the building’s scale, the way entrances and staircases work, having places to sit and talk in-between classes – all foster this spirit of interaction. And they’re being used!

The building expresses the character of the structure and materials and even the systems for energy conservation and sustainability. The exterior block and brick-clad walls and gabled roof forms echo the historic character of the Lewis & Clark campus, but the structure, mechanical systems and material selections clearly mark the building as innovative and modern.

Doug Macy, principal, Walker Macy

Once again, it was a pleasure to work with Lewis & Clark College, an institution with such a high standard and commitment to sustainability. Howard Hall is a model of sustainable design.

Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, speaking at the inauguration of Thomas J. Hochstettler as Lewis & Clark's 23rd president. March 6, 2005.

...I am also grateful to this institution for its leadership in sustainability issues. As the chairman of the Oregon Sustainability Board, I rely on your efforts to help us find the way to our goal of sustainability within a generation.

The law school and Howard Hall green building projects, the bioswale by the Griswold [Stadium] parking lot, and other projects educate your students and community about the practicality and importance of sustainability. In this, as in so many areas, you show the leadership we need.

Ralph DiNola, senior design consultant, Green Building Services

John R. Howard Hall is an ideal case study to show how a college or university can use the LEED Green Building Rating System as a robust framework to implement their green building aspirations.

The design process began with an eco-charrette in which the design team, contractor and all of the building's stakeholders were gathered for the day to identify the goals and vision for this new facility. Members of the college's staff worked with the faculty members and students to help determine the building’s features and specific green building strategies. Sustainable measures incorporated into the building include a timeless design using durable materials with a low life-cycle impact on the environment; high quality daylighting in all of the classrooms and faculty offices; a raised access floor system for improved indoor air quality, energy efficiency and simplified room reconfiguring; and a sustainable landscape that provides a community gathering places for everyone at the college. These and other building features should earn a LEED Gold certification.

Michael Sestric, campus planner, Lewis & Clark College

Howard Hall is a critical piece of the college’s 30-year campus master plan, adopted in 1991, which helped bring order and logic to different parts of campus by sketching out functional zones to create a more integrated, Jeffersonian-style undergraduate academic village.

Howard Hall anchors the academic quad and sets up future redevelopment that will define the undergraduate academic zone.