Sustainability is Built into Campus
William & Mary’s commitment to sustainability is built into the campus, and it continues to grow with new architectural projects and expansion of existing programs.
One of these little known ongoing initiatives is solar production. In 2020, William & Mary partnered with Dominion Energy on the Rochambeau solar farm project in Toano, VA. Rochambeau is a 20 megawatt solar facility and William & Mary is its sole offtaker. The energy generated at Rochambeau powers half of the William & Mary campus and part of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
The solar program will expand with the debut of West Woods 1 in fall 2025. “One of the difficult things on our campus is we don’t have a lot of rooftop or open space that would be available or ideal to use solar panels, but the one building in the West Woods development that will have a flat roof is the new dining hall,” explained University Architect Dan Pisaniello. The new Dining Pavilion and Pine Hall will collectively have about 800 solar panels on their roofs.
Pine Hall will also be home to a green roof that will be accessible on the second floor. Green roofs are beneficial for stormwater management, as they absorb falling rainwater to prevent flooding and runoff. The green roofs will also operate as a social space for students, with seating overlooking the woods. “Essentially [there will be] outdoor living rooms up on the second floor of that residence hall,” said Pisaniello.
Connecting the Sadler Center to West Woods 1 will be a pedestrian bridge through the woods and the walkway to the bridge will feature permeable pavement. Using permeable pavement will help protect tree roots and manage stormwater, since, unlike asphalt, permeable pavement absorbs water.
The permeable walkway was an idea pitched by Cedrick Dimaranan ‘27, who was awarded a $60,000 Green Fee to fund the project. Dimaranan first became interested in permeable pavement while studying it for a middle school project. He approached Associate Director of Grounds & Gardens Tony Orband about finding a location on campus for a permeable pavement project and Orband suggested the West Woods 1 bridge and pathway. After applying for the Green Fee and receiving the award, Dimaranan worked with Orband, Pisaniello, and Senior Project Manager of West Woods 1 Amber Hall on the project timeline and cost. “It’s cool to see how my middle school plans have come into fruition,” Dimaranan said.
The West Woods 1 buildings will also be heated and cooled using geothermal wells. Geothermal systems use the earth’s heat below the ground to sustainably heat and cool buildings without burning natural gas. The new complex is not the only area on campus served by geothermal. Monroe Hall’s reopening this fall of 2024 marked the first residence hall to be heated and cooled via geothermal wells. Under Barksdale Field, there is a geothermal field connected to Lemon, Hardy, and Cedar Hall, the latter opening in fall 2025. Old Dominion Hall, reopening in Fall 2025 as well, will also be connected to a geothermal system.
William & Mary approaches sustainable architecture by following guidelines set by LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This past September 2024, Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall and the Music Building both received LEED Silver, achieving a total of 30 LEED certified buildings on campus and surpassing a million square feet of green space on campus.
When reflecting on all of the innovative projects that he has been working on, Pisaniello said his favorite was the geothermal well implementation. “I think the geothermal work we are doing is really exciting … because we’ve actually done it,” said Pisaniello. “William & Mary had this idea [that] we’ve got to move the needle on our promises on sustainability. How are we going to get there? It’s not an option to cut this out of the project. So that’s really exciting from a sustainability perspective.”
As for looking ahead, Pisaniello is interested in the development of West Woods 2, which will break ground in 2025 and replace the Randolph Complex. “I think the exciting thing about West Woods 2 is that it’s really going to be integrated into the landscape,” said Pisaniello. “How do we build sensitively in that area and really integrate the building to the landscape. I think that’s an exciting challenge and that’s going to be a lot of fun to design as we go and create a space that is welcoming, inviting, and healthy for building occupants.”
