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Austin Chapter Goes Green

Kent Burress, executive director of RMHC of Austin and Central Texas, knew the Ronald McDonald House in Austin, Texas, needed to expand. The 13-bedroom House wasn’t large enough to serve the needs of an area where pediatric and neonatal hospital units continue to grow.

So when the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas offered a site to build a new Ronald McDonald House, Kent couldn’t refuse. The Chapter could build a Ronald McDonald House near the hospital, but there was a condition: Because Dell Children’s Medical Center is built with the green building standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, the House would need to be built to meet LEED standards, too.

Matching Missions

People initially thought the project could be too costly, and they didn’t understand exactly how the House would be designed. But Kent educated himself about sustainable design and construction, and he learned the House would be built to meet standards in water efficiency, energy use, material selection and indoor environmental quality. He shared the information with his Board of Directors, and they began to understand that many aspects of sustainable design added few upfront costs, and the long-term savings in energy and maintenance costs would offset any higher initial costs incurred.

“It is simply the right thing to do,” Kent says. “The more we learned, the more it became evident that there is a real synergy between sustainable design practices and our mission.”

Plans for the House moved forward, and the Chapter launched its “Many Hands Make a Home” campaign to raise funds for the new House. The 30-bedroom Ronald McDonald House opened in 2007 and has received Platinum LEED certification.

Sustainable Structure

Building the House with green principles gives the Chapter significant financial efficiencies over the building’s life. The solar-powered House generates enough energy to power 15 bedrooms in the House and offsets 30,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually — the equivalent of driving 33,000 miles.  

It also provides a supportive living environment for guests, with abundant natural lighting, toxin-free materials, native landscaping and carefully controlled indoor air quality.

As a member of the RMHC Global Advisory Council, Kent shares his knowledge about sustainable design with other local RMHC Chapters. Several RMHC Chapters in the United States and Canada have recently built Houses using eco-friendly design principles, too.

> Watch more when Austin Goes Green 

 

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