Corps projects highlighted at annual Engineering Unplugged Conference

Posted April 15, 2010
By Patrick Bloodgood
Norfolk District Public Affairs

04/15/2010 - NORFOLK, Va. — More than 250 professionals received continuing education credits by attending the Second Annual Engineering Unplugged Conference Tuesday in Norfolk. The conference was hosted by Old Dominion University and held in their Ted Constant Convocation Center.

For Gary Szymanski, a civil engineer and chief of the cost engineering section at the Norfolk District, the conference afforded him the opportunity to talk about and demonstrate how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. military are embracing "green" building standards.

"I think we had the opportunity to tell our story on a couple of really good projects," said Szymanski.

Topics relating to various "green" building procedures, techniques and lessons learned was the conference focus, bringing greater awareness to those in the building profession about what it takes to be more environmentally-friendly when constructing new or renovating facilities.

Szymanski discussed the Army's Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCOE) Headquarters building at Fort Lee, Va., and the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in northern Virginia. Both projects spotlight how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approaches designing and constructing buildings to Leadership in Energy and Environmentally Design, or LEED, certified standards.

The buildings integrate water conservation features as well as incorporate designs to reduce energy usage, not only making them environmentally-friendly, but more economical to operate over time. According to event organizers, this is the main goal for "green" construction.

"It's just not about saying we have a LEED silver building, it's about energy conservation and eventually a significant return on investment," said Clair Dorsey, director of professional development at the College of Engineering, Old Dominion University.

Dorsey hopes the conference will fuel innovation and drive people to look beyond today's standards and see what can be done for the future.

"These people who are here today will change the way we do business tomorrow…as far as green goes, the way we build buildings, the way we construct our cars, and the way we sail ships," said Dorsey.

With more than 11.5 million square feet of LEED-certified building space in Hampton Roads alone, Dorsey believes that change is well underway.

"There are many people around in the (green building) business, so it's not just a fad, it's here to stay. Our government is encouraging it, and it is the right thing to do," stressed Dorsey.