FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Green technology is steadily becoming an integral part of society. For the Army, green technology may be a route away from foreign resource dependence. Renewable resources are becoming more efficient and Fort Riley's Irwin Army Community Hospital is an example of how those resources are incorporated.
Hospital construction concluded Oct. 12, 2016, replacing a legacy building with an improved version. Part of the new construction of IACH included green technology materials, such as the glass curtain wall, designed for heat and light optimization. By positioning the entire building east-facing, sunlight is able to be used regardless of the season.
"One of the reasons they turned it an angle was so that in the winter, the sunlight comes in these windows … all morning long," said Jon Cranmer, IACH facility manager. "That sunlight helps heat the building."
In contrast, the sun comes up more to the north during summer and the wall in front of the glass curtain keeps the sun hidden.
"Now you're not heating the building, you're avoiding that heat cost," Cranmer said. "You still have the light coming in the (glass curtain) wall because you want that warm, inviting atmosphere."
Patient rooms are also designed to handle light and heat with alternative green technology. Antimicrobial window shades provide infection control and augment sunlight. The antimicrobial agents incorporated into the fibers of the shades kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms like bacteria. Including these shades helps keep patient rooms as sterile as possible for patient recovery.
"The first shade comes down and blocks the glare, but still lets a lot of the light in," Cranmer said. "If you want the room darker and you don't want more light in there's another shade … both of those shades are made out of an antimicrobial fabric so that we don't have infection control issues with them."
Sterile environments in IACH are further supported by copper-infused stainless steel. Copper's innate ability to destroy bacteria makes it perfect for water lines as well. Cranmer said copper-infused stainless steel tables, handrails and doorknobs were incorporated throughout IACH for this purpose.
Keeping IACH clean and sterile begins at every entryway. In contrast to copper, cost-effective walk-off mats are placed in every entrance.
There are three mats visitors walk over before entering the hospital. The first two mats are made of coarse material, which remove as much dirt as possible. All hospitals include walk-off mats, but it's especially important for IACH due to the amount of Soldier traffic. Soldiers coming from training at the impact area can have dirt buildup on their boots. The third and final walk-off mat absorbs water and the last of the dirt.
"It helps absorb the water that's on your shoes as well, so that when you get into the rest of the building you're not tracking lots of dirt and water in," Cranmer said. "It also helps when we have to put down ice melt, it keeps as much of that outside as possible."
Walk-off mats preserve the quality of floors and help keep the hospital clean. This is especially important for Terrazzo floors because sand, ice melt and similar materials wear down the integrity.
Terrazzo is a harder surface compared to standard materials used in floors. It's time consuming and expensive to install. However, the longevity and low-maintenance qualities offset installation cost, making it ideal for IACH and other buildings on post.
"Patton Hall was built in the '30s and the Terrazzo has been there since then," Cranmer said. "Because it's low maintenance, you're not spending lots of effort on polishing, buffing, waxing, stripping or anything like that …So you pay for it up front and then it pays for itself over the long haul."
Terrazzo isn't designed to be used everywhere in the hospital. Instead, lower-traffic areas use recyclable carpet and rubber tiles.
Throughout the hospital the designers tried to use recycled materials that don't have volatile organic compounds, which are oil-based products, Cranmer said.
"In a building like the hospital, you want to keep as much VOC out as possible because sick people can be more sensitive to those types of things," Cranmer said. "We're reducing the possibility that you would ever end up with a sick building syndrome."
Harsh smells from oil-based products come from VOCs. Using recycled carpet and rubber tiles avoided VOCs and potential sick building syndrome. Both materials are replaceable and non-porous, contributing another antimicrobial surface.
Rubber tiles are comfort to walk on, aiding hospital staff working long hours. They require no harsh cleaners, which makes maintaining them environmentally friendly, Cranmer said.
The efficiencies are not limited to surfaces and sunlight. The major cost of environmental control in a building is the way it is heated and cooled using water, he said.
Water is more efficient than air for distributing heating and air conditioning, Cranmer said. The hospital has large air handlers, but heating and cooling is sent to them via water.
"They put efficient heating and cooling systems in the building," Cranmer said. "One of the things that they've done is they have heat recirculation. We use water to distribute the heat as opposed to your home, which uses air. The water does a better job of carrying and dispersing heat than air does."
For the Army, green technology is the route away from foreign resource dependence. A self-sufficient Army is stronger than one reliant on foreign resources like oil.
Incorporating green materials and energy efficiency in future buildings will assist the Army and Fort Riley community in becoming strong and environmentally sound, Cranmer said.
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