WIESBADEN, Germany - About a dozen attendees witnessed the awarding of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver award during a ceremony Aug. 11 at Clay Kaserne. U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden’s newly opened Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Outdoor Recreation Center was certified LEED Silver by the U.S Green Building Council after meeting LEED Silver standards.
LEED is a worldwide certification program that provides third-party verification of green buildings. Standards help guide building owners and operators to be environmentally responsible and to use energy efficiently.
Ron Locklar, chief of the FMWR’s Community Recreation Division, said the LEED standards guided the design process in regard to efficiencies, but in some areas the design team went above and beyond to ensure the new space would meet the needs of the staff and community. For instance, Locklar said, the more used lobby and warehouse areas have different types of heating to provide constant, low heat, while the lesser used classroom areas have wall radiators that can be turned on and off as needed. The team didn’t just want to meet the LEED standard, Locklar said, but wanted to ensure everything was used efficiently. Not having wall radiators in the lobby and warehouse also allowed for space efficiencies.
Finished in 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District oversaw construction of the $8.5 million, 12,510 square foot recreation center. This facility consolidated activities and storage areas from more than four different locations throughout the Wiesbaden community, and will save 42% on energy costs relative to code requirements.
“The Corps is always exploring techniques in the construction of buildings to promote energy efficiency and sustainability, and this project is another example of building cost-effective and efficient facilities,” said Col. Patrick Dagon, the Europe District commander.
Besides the energy savings under LEED, simply being consolidated in one building also created efficiencies for Outdoor Rec staff and community members, Locklar said.
Staff used to have items stored at different locations and would have to drive to retrieve them, or have community members meet them at other locations to pick up rental items.
“Having everything in one site, having it designed to be everything we need, where we need it, and how we need it -- that’s what’s great about this facility,” Locklar said.
The Outdoor Recreation Center features many amenities including a wide variety of rentals such as barbecue grills and inflatables, as well as equipment for biking, camping, canoeing and kayaking, and summer and winter sports activities. The center also has an air-conditioned training classroom for meetings, plus a state of the art maintenance shop for bicycles, skis, snowboards and other recreational equipment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, together with the contractor and the Landesbetrieb Bau und Immobilien Hessen constructed the award-winning building by incorporating the following energy efficient systems and sound green building practices:
• Construction activities diverted 93% of non-hazardous construction waste from landfills.
• Water conservation features incorporated into this project will consume 30% less water than code requirements.
• 50% of the project site’s native and adapted vegetation was protected and kept intact.
• 13% of building material content was manufactured from recycled materials.
• 20% of building materials were manufactured and extracted from within 500 miles of the project site.
• To provide improved indoor air quality, low volatile organic compounds were specified and installed, which included paints and flooring systems.
The new Outdoor Recreation Center is located on Clay North and is open for business despite its official ribbon-cutting ceremony being cancelled due to coronavirus precautions in March. The center is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Hand-washing and face coverings are required.
For details on upcoming trips, educational classes, hunting and fishing opportunities and other programs and services stop by the Outdoor Recreation Center, call (0611) 143-548-9801 or visit https://wiesbaden.armymwr.com/programs/outdoor-recreation.