Both the College and the Students sought an innovative approach to sustainability from the outset of the design process. The design of the building is a unique response to energy use in buildings that is based on designing a heat reclaim system first – ensuring that no heat is rejected from the building until there is more thermal energy in the building than it needs, and no heat is added to the building until it has reused all of its own thermal energy. The result is a reduction in energy use and green house gas emissions without a large capital cost.