MITHŪN

Overview

Stephen Epler Hall at Portland State University is a 6-story, 130-unit student residence situated over ground-level classrooms and faculty offices. Located on a campus in downtown Portland, Oregon, the mixed-use building is well positioned for urban strategies. It is close to multiple transit options, including bus, light rail and streetcars. The design carefully integrates energy conservation into the building’s structure and the high-performance systems are exposed to increase awareness and learning opportunities. It represents a new direction in campus expansion—accommodating increasing numbers of students while reducing the carbon and economic footprints of new buildings. Operable windows, sunshades and other natural ventilation features replace air-conditioning to cool the building in the warmer months, while recaptured exhaust air helps heat it in the cooler months. The project also has filter and detention systems that reuse stormwater to flush toilets and irrigate the landscape. Demonstrated first year savings in water use allowed the University to obtain a reduction of $79,000 in the system development fees levied by the city on new construction. It is the first LEED® Silver mixed-use building in Portland.

Awards

2005
City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development, Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Awards, Award for Stormwater Management

2004
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Pillars of the Industry Award, Best Student Housing Apt Community

2003
American Institute of Architects (AIA), Seattle Chapter / IIDA, Exhibition, Greenworld – What Makes it Green

Links

• Stephen Epler Residence Hall, Portland State University Sustainability, Green Buildings
• Portland State University, Stephen Epler Hall Case Study Narrative, AIA Upjohn Research Initiative, June 2009, by Kwok, A., N. Rajkovich, and B. Jessup.
• Portland State University – Epler Hall, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability Green Building Publications, April 2006
• A First Year Evaluation of the Energy and Water Conservation of Epler Hall: Direct and Societal Savings, by Cathy Turner, Masters of Environmental Management Project, Department of Environmental Science and Resources, Portland State University, March 2005