Raymond F. LeChase Hall opened in January 2013, providing a permanent, 65,000-square-foot home for the Warner School of Education. Following the precedent set in O’Brien Hall, the extensive technology built into LeChase Hall’s design will support day-to-day activities and the University’s continued growth in a sustainable way.

With 34 wireless access points and 658 network jacks throughout the building, every square foot of LeChase Hall has fast network access. The installation of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones—which places and receives calls through an Internet connection rather than the traditional phone network—provides enhanced functionality, such as conference calling with up to eight people without the need for a conference bridge.

Digital signage displays located in hallways and common spaces keep the community informed, providing current news, event information, photos, and program information.

Keeping it Green

LeChase Hall is designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver standards, so energy conservation was a major consideration in technology choices. All LCD panels use LED instead of fluorescent backlighting to reduce energy consumption, and the displays and projectors in classrooms, small meeting rooms, and conference rooms power off after three minutes of inactivity (when no signal from an audio-visual device is detected).

Every office is also equipped with a “Conserve Surge” protector, which has two outlets that are always on and six outlets that can be switched off manually or will turn off automatically after eleven hours. Switching off devices such as printers, monitors, speakers, and chargers in each office overnight and on weekends will save about 6-million watt hours annually—the amount of electricity needed to light a 60-watt light bulb for 100,000 hours.