Janet Ayers Academic Center

The Janet Ayers Academic Center, home to Belmont’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of Sciences and Mathematics and College of Theology and Christian Ministry, was designed and constructed using sustainable practices to help reduce its environmental impact. The building is Platinum LEED certified, making Belmont the first University in Tennessee and the first LEED for New Construction project in Nashville to achieve that level, the highest in the feature-oriented rating system that awards buildings for satisfying specific green building criteria.

ICT was commissioned to design mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection design and construction administration for a five-story Arts and Sciences building housing the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Sciences and Mathematics, and the School of Religion. 

Sustainability:

• LEED PLATINUM
• The first in Tennessee and first in Nashville to reach this highest rating.
• An underground parking garage to reduce the urban heat island effect and preserve green space.

• Charging stations and parking spaces for car/van pool and fuel efficient and low emitting vehicles.
• Educational and sustainable green roofs.
• High efficiency plumbing fixtures to optimize water savings at an expected rate of 66,000 gallons each year.
• Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that drastically reduce energy usage.
• An active chilled beam system that reduces heating and cooling energy and is one of the only HVAC systems of its kind in Nashville.
• More than 75 percent of the waste generated during construction was recycled, diverting more than 900 tons of waste from local landfills.
• An irrigation system that collects water run-off in underground tanks, comparable in size to Olympic size swimming pools, that is reused for irrigation and water feature purposes.

Project Highlights:

• Thirty tiered classrooms with stadium seating and state-of-the-art audiovisual systems
• Open atrium entry lobby
• State-of-the-art laboratories for biology, chemistry, and physics programs
• Chapel
• Private faculty offices and work areas
• Conference center with extensive audiovisual systems
• Five-level underground parking with 430 spaces