An eco-friendly renovation of three classrooms in DePaul Hall was completed in summer 2010.

Karin Crumb Kosmala wants to make Niagara University – home to the Purple Eagles – greener.

But it’s a good thing.

Specifically, Kosmala has been a primary contributor to the sustainability task force that is charged with driving the university’s impetus toward creating a more environmentally-friendly, or “green,” campus.

Now in her sixth year as Niagara’s facility designer, Kosmala, Allied Member ASID, LEED, AP, is responsible for the planning, drafting and coordination of interior space utilization, from developing spatial requirements to scheduling and implementing relocations of equipment and personnel. She also conducts space assessments, develops drawings, and outlines cost estimates for smaller renovation projects, all while developing floor plans, devising furniture layouts and making color selections.

Kosmala’s allegorical color of choice is, of course, green.

A member of the university’s facility planning department, she chairs the Reduce, Re-use and Recycle subcommittee of Niagara’s sustainability task force and is the faculty adviser of NUHOPE (Niagara University Helping Our Planet Earth), a club that she helped launch four years ago with NU students Sally McGill and Erin McKinney. The Rochester Institute of Technology graduate holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design and a master’s degree in art education and can effortlessly quote architects from the world-renowned, like Frank Lloyd Wright, to the slightly lesser-known, such as Urban Design Group’s Ken Rhyne.

“Karin possesses a skill set that is ideal for her position at Niagara, considering that she has cultivated her God-given sense for interior design with years of study and experience, and has earned a graduate degree in education to boot,” said Judy Willard, NU’s assistant to the president for planning. “Her enthusiasm for creating and preserving healthy and sustainable structures has really made Karin a vital contributor to the major capital transformations that are taking place throughout our campus.”

To wit, Kosmala oversaw this past summer’s eco-friendly renovation of three classrooms in DePaul Hall, currently home to Niagara’s College of Arts & Sciences. Each of the rooms was outfitted with energy-efficient windows, low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) and low-odor paints. DePaul’s classroom windows are now drawn with shades that reduce solar heat gain and conserve energy. Even the furniture within the classrooms is “green.”

DePaul Hall's renovated classrooms feature "green" furniture by Herman Miller.

“All of the desks and chairs in the new classrooms are made by Herman Miller, a company whose strong commitment to corporate sustainability includes minimizing the environmental impact of each of their products,” affirms Kosmala, who earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation from the United States Green Building Council in May 2009. “Using these products helps us to create an environment that has better indoor air quality and is more comfortable to work and learn within.”

Although re-using an existing structure, like DePaul Hall, is considered optimal to Kosmala and her socially-responsible colleagues, there are many inherent complications associated with doing so. For starters, many buildings that have reached an age when renovations are necessary may often be subject to adhering to federal preservation guidelines. Adding to the challenge are the difficulties associated with finding energy-efficient ways to update the aged facility’s mechanical systems and devising methods to ensure that sufficient amounts of natural light may be allocated.

Still, according to Kosmala, there are many creative opportunities for older structures to be retro-fitted with environmentally-friendly materials. These include freshening up the building’s interior with zero-VOC paints, laying flooring that consists of recycled or renewable materials, purchasing low emission or GREENGUARD certified furniture, swapping incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones, replacing light switches with occupancy sensors and installing energy-efficient windows and doors.

“The only legitimate excuse for not greening a building at all, even an older one – aside from severely restricted resources – is a lack of creativity,” Kosmala insists.

Energy-efficient windows have been installed in DePaul Hall.

At the other end of the spectrum, nearly half of Kosmala’s tenure at Niagara has coincided with the progression of the university’s $80 million capital campaign, an endeavor that has left the Sherburne, N.Y. native with a bountiful workload. When the Academic Complex and Bisgrove Hall were constructed in 2007, Kosmala was called upon to ensure that both were built to meet LEED specifications. The same will be done for the B. Thomas Golisano Center for Integrated Sciences, which is set to break ground in May 2011.

“Under Father Levesque’s leadership, Niagara University has really committed itself to doing whatever it can to be sustainable every time a renovation or new build is initiated,” Kosmala attests. “Our goal is to achieve the highest level of LEED certification as possible, with ambitious aspirations of earning a silver or gold award down the road.”

Kosmala’s passion for sustainability and “green” architecture transcends her personal and professional lives. Along with completing several small-scale “green” consulting jobs off-campus, Kosmala’s eco-friendly enthusiasm carries over into her domestic life. Her Williamsville residence, which she shares with her husband, Shawn, and 1-year-old daughter, Teagan, has been modified to include cork floors in its kitchen and zero-VOC paint splashed on its walls, while energy-efficient appliances, lighting and doors fill out the home’s interior.

To Kosmala, sustainability just makes sense.

“We are surrounded daily by chemicals and toxins; they are in everything from the food we eat and the clothes we wear, to the cars we drive and the air we breathe. A large number of these are also in the buildings we live in, we work in, and our kids play in. A vital element of sustainable design is to not only take into account the effect that you are having on the environment, but also on the people who will be occupying those spaces. I believe that designing sustainably provides the opportunity to eliminate many of these toxins and, because of this, I strive to create customized interiors that are not only comfortable, but also as healthy and chemical-free as possible.”