Carbon Neutral in McCall

Frank Jacobus, assistant professor of architecture, and students in a senior-level studio course are leading a studio project on what is expected to be the first carbon-neutral design-build facility in the nation.

Jacobus and his students are developing designs and building plans for a 1,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral, “ultra-green” building at the University of Idaho Field Campus in McCall, Idaho. To be carbon-neutral, the building must emit no net carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, releasing only as much as is sequestered, and be able to perform with no negative environmental impacts.

When developing designs for the building, a future bunkhouse for students of the University’s McCall Outdoor Science School, the student designers must examine factors like power tool use, transport of building materials and embodied energies in the chosen building materials. They also must consider the building’s function and operation to ensure its long-term carbon-neutral status. Design plans may integrate efficient daylighting, renewable energy options and other environmentally friendly solutions.

Impact

If successful, this groundbreaking design-build would be the first project of its kind in the nation. It would serve as a precedent and a best-practice model for other institutions who are seeking ways to build and sustain facilities with little or no negative impact on the environment.

Once a design is selected, Jacobus and his students will begin the first phase of construction during the summer of 2009. It is hoped that this building is just the first step in a long-term vision to transform the McCall Field Campus into a carbon-neutral site.

Principal Contributors

Frank Jacobus
Assistant Professor
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Bruce Haglund
Professor
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Additional Contributors

Architecture 495 (studio)

University of Idaho McCall Field Campus
Integrated Design Laboratory, Boise 
McCall Outdoor Science School 
Southface Construction and Design, McCall, Idaho