Commitment to Sustainability
The new green roof located at 4 Riverside Circle has a beautiful meadow garden that helps reduce stormwater run-off and prevents flooding. The garden also promotes biodiversity, by creating new habitats for insect life and birds. The roof’s structural materials were selected to reduce heat by reflecting sunlight.
Captured rainwater from the 4 Riverside Circle roof is collected in a 24,000-gallon cistern. This water used in restrooms is cleaned and filtered for reuse using reverse osmosis technology, saving 64% in water consumption compared to similar buildings.
With vacancy sensors and fluorescent lights, the new Biomedical Research Expansion is estimated to reduce energy consumption by 15% compared to similar facilities by reducing lighting and plug loads. Building sun shades and sections of darker glass throughout the campus also reduce heat and energy consumption for cooling.
In addition, all of the facility's materials, including carpet, ceiling tile, and wall boards are declared no-VOC or low-VOC to ensure healthy indoor air quality.
The goal of the Green Labs Program at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is to create a culture of sustainability in the research institute community by bringing awareness to the environmental impacts of a lab, creating and sharing best practices to support green lab projects/goals, and to explore ways to reduce the environmental impact of our research.
The Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke makes it easy for faculty, staff and students to make sustainable transportation choices, by offering:
- Walkable campus
- Easy access to public transportation, including free shuttles to Downtown Roanoke and Blacksburg
- Direct access to 30+ miles of Roanoke's Greenway System for pedestrians and cyclists
- Electronic vehicle charging stations on-site in 2% of parking spaces
- 17 parking spaces reserved for low-emissions vehicles
