Spring Break
Upgraded facilities in Union turn eco-friendly
Mark Scialla
Issue date: 9/12/08 Section: News
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In a series of energy saving building improvements, the university has equipped the memorial union bathrooms on the first and third floors with automated toilets and paper towel dispensers as well as highly efficient water - saving urinals and faucets. These improvements are expected to save the university more than $135,000.
The union has also replaced old lighting systems with new energy-efficient light fixtures and bulbs and added motion detectors in nearly every section of the building.
Each waterless, non-mechanical, urinal is expected to save 40,000 gallons of water annually. These low-maintenance urinals contain a collapsible piece that controls odor and is changed about once a month. The new faucets and automated paper towel dispensers added to the bathrooms act on sensors that also help save water and paper.
The ideas for these recent renovations came from Memorial Union director Bruce Hamilton.
"The more we conserve the better it is for everybody," Hamilton said. "I'm not just talking financially, I'm talking in terms of what is right for the environment."
Hamilton said the bathrooms were a major maintenance issue that needed to be addressed.
Along with the energy-focused improvements, the union made some internal renovations on the second floor, repaired a staircase on the North side of the building and removed another staircase outside the union near the bookstore. Hamilton said the staircase was removed because it was a major maintenance problem and would have been costly to replace.
Hamilton, who makes the decisions to renovate in conjunction with the student board, said that they are continuously trying to make improvements to modernize and protect the building for the URI community.
"It's the right thing to do so we're going to do it," Hamilton said.
According to David Lamb, Utilities Engineer at URI, the total cost of the project was $1.04 million. The university granted the union the funds for the project from an $18.1 million low-interest loan that was raised through the state legislature. The savings accumulated from the project are expected to repay the loan.
"It is a self-funding mechanism," Lamb said.
Each year a portion of the savings will be given back to the state while the difference will be put back into the Union's budget.
According to Hamilton, the focus is to constantly make improvements to the Memorial Union.
"We establish what is needed on an ongoing basis," Hamilton said.
Hamilton spoke of more bathroom improvements, an extension to the bookstore and a gas powered fireplace that will be positioned near Ram's Escape in attempts to make the area more aesthetically pleasing.
