Much of what makes the Jacob Burns Film Center”™s Media Arts Lab so cutting-edge has nothing to do with the sleek black iMacs in the editing rooms. It has to do with the building itself.

Recently, the lab received LEED gold certification from the United States Green Building Council ”“ the only new construction in Westchester County to have received it.

Under the point system used by the council for its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) classifications, a building can attain certified, bronze, silver, gold or platinum status by meeting and verifying certain requirements. For gold ”“ the second highest classification ”“ a building must earn between 41 and 47 points. The Media Arts Lab ”“ designed by KG&D Architects & Engineers of Mount Kisco, with Yorke Construction Corp. of New York City serving as general contractor ”“ earned 45 points. The 27,000-square-foot, $12.5 million building ”“ which opened for classes in 2009 ”“ is not large enough to qualify for platinum certification, says Dominick Balletta, managing director of the Burns Center, which is in Pleasantville.

Still, as he leads the reporter on a tour on a brilliantly sunny morning, it”™s clear that the lab packs an environmental wallop.

The roof contains skylights that shed natural light on the floor of offices below and solar panels that meet 8 percent to 10 percent of the building”™s energy needs. These are surrounded by a gray deck ”“ the predominant color of the lab ”“ dotted with hardy chive and sedum plants that help with water runoff and the building”™s cooling.

Other striking green features include the geothermal system, which uses 30 wells that go down 492 feet to draw on core-earth water at a temperature of 55 degrees, thus making it easier to heat and cool the building. The geothermal system also warms the water pipes in the cork floors, creating radiant heat that rises six to seven feet. Cork was used, because it is a renewable material.

Renew, reuse and recycle were bywords in the construction process, Balletta says:
“Seventy percent of the material had to be recycled and that had to be verified. That”™s the big thing, the verification. It was a team effort of the architect, the general contractor and the owner and a challenge to make sure we were on top of it.”

Also requiring documentation: that the concrete and steel used in the construction were obtained primarily from places within 500 miles, thus reducing the lab”™s carbon footprint. The lab earned additional points for being near the Pleasantville train station and underwriting school buses ”“ to the tune of $50,000 a year ”“ which bring in students for classes in animation, digital storytelling and movies as a key to writing.

The lab serves 12,000 students a year, pre-kindergarten through college. There are also courses in film studies and documentaries for adults. Classes make use of a conference room, an informal “kick-back” space on the mezzanine, two nifty editing rooms with iMacs and ergonomic black chairs, a 60-seat screening room and two Foley rooms for special effects and voiceovers.

But film isn”™t all that”™s taught.

“The building is here as a manifestation of sustainable construction,” Balletta says.

 

Tours

Geen tours of the Jacob Burns Film Center”™s Media Arts Lab are held on the third Thursday of every month at 5:30 p.m. No reservations are required. Attendees receive free movie tickets to the Burns. For more information, log on to burnsfilmcenter.org or call 773-7663.