Vassar Points the Way Forward on Sustainability with Tour for Local Officials
The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts isn’t just a place for forward-thinking dialogue about pressing issues of the day. It’s also housed in a structure that employs features in its design that minimize its carbon footprint. That was the message Vassar Sustainability Director Kenneth Foster delivered to local government leaders as he led them on a tour of the building on January 13.
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Photo: Courtesy of Kenneth Foster
Foster said members of the Town of Poughkeepsie Climate Smart Task Force (CSTF) had asked for the tour to gain ideas about how to implement such state-of-the-art technology for future building projects in the town. “The purpose of their visit was to help them understand the sustainability features as we walked through the main parts of the all-electric building and a mechanical room where the interior part of the geothermal heating and cooling system is housed,” he said.
Those who took the tour were CSTF members Susan Karnes Hecht (chair), Joan Freeman, and Richard Levine; Ward 6 Town Board Member Ann Shershin; Devin Rigolino, Environmental Program Director for the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development; Erica Bushell, Town Communications Specialist; Town Legislative Aide Trevor Redl; Johanna Fallert of the town Conservation Advisory Commission; and residents Amy Joscelyn, Dan Lo, and Scott Loveland.
Sustainability features of the building include:
- A solar thermal hot water system;
- High-performance glass on the Institute’s windows;
- Four EV chargers;
- 100-percent-recycled brick for the façade;
- Solar-powered electricity generation;
- A geothermal heat pump heating and air conditioning system.
Foster said the tour represented another step in sharing information about ways to combat climate change with members of the community. “This tour was an example of how Vassar is working to collaborate with others to move the broader community forward in our work in sustainability,” he said.