Clemson U Dedicates Green Building
Clemson University (SC) has dedicated the Harris A. Smith Building, a structure that houses the Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics. The 28,000-square-foot building features natural daylighting, locally sourced materials, concrete floors with a 20 percent fly ash content, and a metal sunscreen that mitigates the sun's exposure on the building's southwest corner glass wall. Clemson is seeking LEED Gold certification for the structure.
St. Petersburg College Building Awarded LEED Gold Certification
St. Petersburg College (FL) has received LEED Gold certification for its Natural Science, Mathematics, and College of Education building. The structure, which opened in January 2009, includes reflective roofing and paving materials, fourteen preferred parking spaces for fuel-efficient vehicles and carpools, and bicycle storage and shower/changing facilities. The College has also committed to using only green cleaning products in the new building.
U Southern California Campus Building Earns Green Award
The University of Southern California's Ronald Tutor Campus Center has received a Green Building of America Award and a spot in the "green success stories" edition of the upcoming Southwest Real Estate & Construction Review . The Campus Center, which is registered for LEED Silver certification and is not yet open, incorporates radiant heating in the outdoor plaza, bamboo wood, trash compactors that separate out biodegradables, and lighting with motion sensors and long-life bulbs. The building also contains low-flow plumbing and an underground retention basin to capture rainfall.
Washington U in St. Louis Apartments Certified LEED Silver
Washington University in St. Louis' (MO) Village East student apartment building has received LEED Silver certification. The Village East, which opened in August 2008, contains 152 beds in four-bedroom apartments for upper-class students. The structure features natural daylighting; materials with recycled content; low-emitting paints, carpets, and composite wood; and stormwater management, including an on-site rain garden.
2 U Arkansas Buildings Receive Green Globes Recognition
The Duncan Avenue Apartments and the Duncan Avenue Community Center at the University of Arkansas have achieved Green Globes designations for sustainable design and construction. The three-story apartment building was noted for having water-efficient equipment, high indoor air quality, effective lighting, thermal comfort, and suitable acoustic conditions. The Community Center, which received 2 Green Globes, was recognized for energy-efficient lighting fixtures and lamps and the improvement of storm-water runoff. Both buildings opened in fall 2008.
Army Logistics U Opens with Green Building
The Army Logistics University and Simulation Training Center (VA) has officially opened with a new green building. Approximately 83 percent of the construction waste for the 348,511-square-foot structure was recycled and the building was designed to meet LEED Silver standards.
Utah State U Wetland Discovery Point Receives LEED Platinum
Utah State University's Wetland Discovery Point, a space that is used to teach about the importance of conservation and wetland ecosystems, has received LEED Platinum certification. The roof of the new structure functions as both a rainwater collector and a tool to provide shade or allow winter sunlight into the building. Harvested precipitation is stored in a cistern and used to irrigate part of the landscape and to flush low-flow toilets. Much of the power used in the building will be solar-generated, and solar-heated water flows through the building’s heating system.
Wake Technical CC Wins Green Building Award
Wake Technical Community College (NC) has received a 2009 “Green Building of America” Award from Construction Communications. Building D, on Wake Tech’s Northern Wake Campus, was chosen for the award from more than 2,500 entries. The building will be featured in a special edition of Real Estate & Construction Review , a publication for policy makers and leaders in finance and economic development. At just under 75,000 square-feet, the building features occupancy sensors and daylight harvesting - a system that detects the amount of light coming in from outside and automatically dims the inside lights accordingly to save energy. The structure also has a white roof to reflect the sun; sun-blocking louvers and roof overhang on the south side of the building; and high-efficiency condensing boilers, fan, and pump motors.
Pacific U Dorm Receives LEED Gold
Pacific University's (OR) Gilbert Hall has received LEED Gold certification. The building, a residence hall, was cited for water efficiency, energy saving systems, providing areas for recycling materials, diverting construction waste from landfills, and indoor environmental quality.
Richland College Opens Green Campus Building
Richland College (TX) has opened its Garland Campus, which was designed to meet LEED Gold criteria. The building features easy access to public transportation, a single-slope roof that harvests rainwater in underground storage tanks to be used for irrigation, motion-sensor faucets and dual-flush toilets, and low VOC construction materials.
Arizona State U Wins Green Design Awards Competition
Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability has been announced the winner of the Educational Category in Environmental Design + Construction magazine's Excellence in Design Awards competition. Finalists included the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University (CT), a student housing complex at Reed College (OR), the Danforth University Center at Washington University (MO), and a student housing complex at Vanderbilt University (TN). Honorable Mentions include Stuart and James halls, part of Dickinson College's (PA) new Rector Science Complex, and Dartmouth College's (NH) Floren Varsity House and Memorial Stadium Renovation. The awards recognize commercial, government, institutional and educational projects as well as single-family residences that demonstrate a clear commitment to green building and sustainable design.
Brandeis U Completes Phase 1 of Green Science Center
Brandeis University (RI) has completed Phase One of its 175,000-square-foot Carl J. Shapiro Science Center. The structure is built to LEED Silver certification standards and features recycled content materials, low VOC paints, urea-formaldehyde free wood products, a green roof, and a light harvesting system.
Saint Xavier U Wins U.S. Green Building Award
Saint Xavier University (IL) has received the 2009 "SMALL feet/large FEAT – Excellence in Organizational Change" award from the U.S. Green Building Council. The annual award recognizes organizations that have made changes to reduce their environmental footprint.
U Oregon Opens Eco-Friendly Education Building
The University of Oregon has opened its new 67,000-square-foot HEDCO Education Building. The $50.5 million project includes natural daylighting, solar hot water, and landscaping that channels rainwater through gardens and bioswales. The structure is 30 percent more efficient than state code requirements.
Wilson College Opens Green Science Complex
Wilson College (PA) has dedicated the Harry R. Brooks Complex for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. The new $25 million building has been built to achieve LEED certification and features daylighting in perimeter offices, high-efficiency condensing boilers, and solar water heating. The 51,500-square-foot renovation and 25,000 square-feet of new space also features dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, ultra-low faucet aerators, and low VOC adhesives, finishes, and carpet systems.
AP Covers New Trend of Campuses Leasing Condos for Student Dorms
The Associated Press has published an article on a new college and university trend to lease empty condominium complexes and use them for student housing. The story mentions projects at Johnson and Wales University's (RI), Columbia University (NY), and Capital University (OH).
Boston U Student Center Earns LEED Silver Certification
Boston University's (MA) Makechnie Study Center has received LEED Silver certification. The 3,000-square-foot structure features bamboo walls, cork flooring, low VOC paint and carpet, and energy-efficiency lighting systems and electronics. The new center was made of nearly 14 percent recycled material and contains more than 90 percent Energy Star-rated computers, printers, and copiers.
Cooley Law School Opens Green Addition
The Thomas M. Cooley Law School (MI) has announced the opening of a 65,000-square-foot addition, doubling the size of its Auburn Hills facilities. The structure, which is registered for LEED certification, includes a green roof, an enhanced heating and cooling system, and the use of many renewable and recyclable materials.
Kresge Announces Green Building Standards for Higher Ed Grants
The Kresge Foundation has announced that it is raising the bar on green building requirements for challenge grants awarded to applicants in the higher-education sector. Effective June 2010, the foundation will only consider proposals for facilities-capital grants from colleges and universities that plan to use the funding for building projects – new construction, renovations, and expansions – that meet the Silver or higher level certification standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program or an equivalent rating agency.
Ohio U Announces Commitment to Green Building
Ohio University has announced a new policy that requires all new construction and renovation projects to seek to meet or exceed LEED Silver certification. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis as to what level of certification is appropriate to a particular project.
Washington U Opens Building Designed to Meet Living Building Challenge
Washington University in St. Louis (MO) has opened its new Living Learning Center. Located on 2,000 acres of woods, prairie, ponds, and savannahs, the 2,900-square-foot facility is built to meet the Living Building Challenge, a program by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council that contains 16 green building requirements. The center is designed to be a zero-net energy and zero wastewater building and will capture rainwater and purify it for drinking. The facility also features porous paving that will absorb almost all storm runoff, a composting toilet, a 3,000 gallon underground cistern, and a 17-kW photovoltaic system that will power the building.
Western Michigan U Health Building Receives LEED-EB Gold
Western Michigan University's College of Health and Human Services building had received LEED-EB Gold certification. The structure is the first higher education building in the US to receive higher than a LEED-EB Silver award. The 200,000-square-foot building was completed in the summer 2005 and includes cork flooring, motion-activated lights, and rice paper between sheets of glass that provides translucent windows along hallways.
Wheelock College Dedicates Green Campus Ctr & Residence Hall
Wheelock College (MA) has dedicated its new Campus Center and Students Residence Hall. The 58,000-square-foot facility, which provides housing for 108 students, features a green roof and light-absorbing windows and is registered for LEED certification.
San Diego CCD Opens Green Campus
San Diego Community College District has opened its West City Campus, the newest site for its Continuing Education program. The structure, which is registered for LEED Silver certification, features low E-rated windows and solar tubes that help maximize natural daylighting; sensors that automatically dim lights in response to available lighting; low-flow and waterless plumbing fixtures; low-VOC paint, adhesives, and carpeting; and a high percentage of recycled construction materials.
Oregon State U Opens Green Building
Oregon State University has opened the newly renovated Kearney Hall. The structure, which houses the civil and construction engineering programs, is registered for LEED Silver certification.
U California Santa Barbara Housing Complex receives LEED Gold
The University of California, Santa Barbara's San Clemente Villages graduate student housing complex has been awarded LEED Gold certification. San Clemente Villages features four separate apartment buildings with 973 beds in 325 one-, two-, and four-bedroom apartments. The structure, which was completed in fall 2008, is believed to be the largest LEED-certified housing facility on any college or university campus in the country.
U California Santa Cruz Building Awarded LEED Silver
The University of California, Santa Cruz's Engineering 2 building has been awarded LEED Silver certification. The structure, which was completed in 2004, is cleaned with environmentally friendly products, saves 276,000 kW of electricity and 17,000 therms of natural gas annually compared to a similar conventional building, and features trees planted nearby to replace those cut down during construction.
U Florida Football Complex Receives LEED Platinum
The University of Florida's Heavener Football Complex has received LEED Platinum certification. The $28 million complex includes offices, conference rooms, an atrium, and weight-training facilities. The facility’s energy-saving features exceed state and national standards requirements by 35 percent and include low-e glazing on glass, insulation, and reflective materials, which make the heating and air conditioning systems more efficient. The structure also contains energy-efficient lighting and light sensors that turn off automatically when the room is empty; a system for analyzing future energy use; light-colored roofing and concrete pavement on the plaza to keep temperatures lower in and around the building; low flow fixtures, dual-flush toilets, and water-saving shower heads; and a green roof. Additionally, one hundred percent of the building's irrigation is reclaimed water, and native plants combined with non-evaporating sprinklers allow the landscaping to use 50 percent less water. The complex is the first building in Florida and the first athletic facility in the nation to achieve LEED Platinum status.
Pennsylvania State U Student Fitness Ctr, Ball Park Earn LEED Awards
Pennsylvania State University's 26,800-square-feet addition and 19,800-square-feet renovation to its Recreation Hall Wrestling and Student Fitness Center has earned LEED Gold certification. The Rec Hall features natural lighting, minimal site disturbance, re-use of existing facilities, recycled rubber in the fitness-area floor, and use of low-flow fixtures for all plumbing. In addition, PSU's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, which Penn State shares with minor-league State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League, has earned LEED certification. The 5,500-seat field exceeded the standard ratio for undisturbed land to building site, exceeded the required energy-efficiency code by as much as 10 percent, and made use of recycled and local materials.
Stetson U Opens Environmental Learning Center
Stetson University (FL) has opened its new Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Environmental Learning Center. The 2,800-square-foot building features a geothermal loop system, a rainwater collection system, a gray-water flush system, roofing made of recycled metal, wood harvested from certified sustainable forests, and double-pane windows with Low-E glass, which admits light while reducing heat gain in summer and reducing heat loss in winter. The structure is registered for LEED Gold certification.
Berea College, Emory U Complete Green Hotel Renovations
Berea College (KY) has completed the renovation of Boone Tavern, the campus' hotel. The structure features reserved parking spaces for fuel-efficient vehicles, outlets to recharge electric cars, low VOC paint and carpet, dual flush toilets, and natural daylighting. In addition, the hotel offers fair-trade coffee; ceiling fans and windows that open in all rooms; environmentally friendly shampoos, soaps, and cleaning products; and food grown by Berea College students or bought from Kentucky farmers. Berea plans to register the hotel for LEED Silver certification. The Emory University (GA) Conference Center Hotel has completed a new addition. The new development is registered for LEED Silver certification.
Emory U Building Awarded LEED Gold
Emory University (GA) has received LEED Gold certification for East Village, a student residential complex completed in 2008. The structure features a system that collects rainwater from the roof and the surrounding streets to use as irrigation water during dry periods. Other green elements include the use of natural daylight, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and a highly efficient heating and cooling system.
Penn State Dedicates Green School of Law
The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law has dedicated its new 114,000-square-foot Lewis Katz Building. The structure was designed to meet LEED certification requirements and features a green roof, pervious surfaces, natural daylighting, and local and recycled content building materials. Construction of the building was completed in December 2008.
Roberts Wesleyan College Library Awarded LEED Silver
Roberts Wesleyan College’s (NY) B. Thomas Golisano Library has achieved LEED Silver certification. The $11 million, 43,000-square-foot library features a two-story atrium that supplies natural light with a north-south orientation, cork flooring and sunflower board cabinetry made with materials from local sources, and carpeting that was manufactured with recycled content. In addition, the Library is heated and cooled with a geothermal pump system.
U California Irvine Student Center Awarded LEED Gold
The University of California, Irvine Student Center has been awarded LEED Gold certification. The expansion earned the certification by exceeding energy performance requirements by 35 percent, diverting from landfills 83 percent of construction-generated waste, and incorporating plumbing fixtures that use 42 percent less water than conventional systems. The structure features reflective roofing, waterless urinals, access to public transit and UCI's shuttle system, and low VOC paint and carpet.
U Pittsburgh Opens Green Children's Hospital
The University of Pittsburg Main Campus (UPMC) (PA) has opened the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The Children’s Hospital’s new $625 million campus includes a 296-bed main hospital and four other buildings on 10-acres. The 1.5 million square feet of usable space features natural daylighting, easy access to public transportation, availability of bike racks and showers, preferred parking for van pools, water efficient landscaping, recycled content building materials, local/regional construction materials, and low VOC sealants, adhesives, paints, and carpets. Two buildings on the campus are registered for LEED certification. The new Hospital also plans to foster its green philosophy by working with clinicians, academicians, and the community to conduct research on the subject of sustainability and its health effects on children.
Virginia Commonwealth U Opens Green Research Building
Virginia Commonwealth University has officially dedicated the $71.5 million Molecular Medicine Research Building. The eight-story, 125,000-square-foot research facility is registered for LEED certification and features water efficient fixtures, an energy recovery wheel in the air handling system, a chilled beam air conditioning system, a green roof, and low hydrocarbon construction materials.
Depauw U Building Certified LEED Gold
The Depauw University (IN) Bartlett Reflection Center has received LEED Gold certification. The building, which is located within the DePauw University Nature Park, is the second building to receive LEED Gold certification on the Depauw campus.
Mesa College Completes Parking Structure with Green Features
Mesa College (CA) has completed a five-level parking structure that accommodates 1,100 cars and includes spaces for alternative-fuel vehicles. The structure also includes green design strategies, materials, products, and construction practices designed to conserve water and energy, reduce waste, and preserve natural resources. In addition, solar panels will be installed on the top level.
Naropa U Open Eco-Friendly Greenhouse
Naropa University (CO) has opened the William D. Jones Community Greenhouse. The new structure is meant to provide students with hands-on experience growing their own food. Local businesses and foundations made gifts to support the Greenhouse Project, which features a subterranean heating system and solar panels. The structure is 100 percent self-sustaining.
R&D Magazine Names Columbia U Lab as 'Lab of the Year'
R&D Magazine has given its Lab of the Year award to the Gary C. Comer Geochemistry Building on the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Campus of Columbia University (NY). Officially completed in late 2007, the building houses extensive lab space focused on advancing our understanding of climate change. High Honors were awarded to the Northwest Science Building at Harvard University (MA), and Special Mention awards were given to the Steacie SuperLab Laboratory Building at Carleton University (ON) and the Catalyst and Material Reliance Technology Center in the City of Surat, Gujarat, India.
U Nevada Reno Athletic Academic Center Awarded LEED Silver
The University of Nevada, Reno has received LEED Silver certification for its Marguerite Wattis Petersen Athletic Academic Center. The 8,300-square-foot, $6.6 million center features natural daylighting, low VOC and recycled content containing materials, bike racks, and an energy management system.
U Utah Opens LEED Certified Geology Building
The University of Utah has opened its new LEED certified geology facility, the $25 million Frederick Albert Sutton Building. The four-level, 91,000-square-foot building features a roof-top garden, on-site storm water capture, xeriscaping, skylights, and a system to display energy and water use.
Virginia Commonwealth U Building Receives LEED Platinum
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Walter L. Rice Education Building is the first building in Virginia to be awarded LEED Platinum certification. The $2.6 million, 4,900-square-foot structure opened last October and features rain gardens, geothermal heating and cooling, high efficiency lighting, high insulation levels, dual flush and power assist toilets, and renewable construction materials.
British Columbia Campuses Receive Funding for Green Infrastructure
Several campuses in British Columbia have received funding from the federal and provincial governments for green building upgrades. University of Northern British Columbia will receive a $21.7 million investment to build a plant that will use waste wood as biofuel and upgrade the campus's heating and cooling equipment and machinery. College of New Caledonia's Prince George campus will receive $19.75 million to renovate some spaces within the John A Brink Centre, and to replace an existing 48-year-old trades training building with a new technical education centre building with sustainable systems that lowers energy consumption and creates more room for trades trainees. Another $9.9 million will build Phase 2 of CNC's North Cariboo Community Campus in Quesnel, which opened in 2006. The University of British Columbia will receive $65 million to renovate research facilities and classrooms originally built more than 50 years ago with sustainable features. The Geoexchange System at UBC Okanagan, which uses groundwater from under the campus to heat and cool buildings, will receive an additional $2.9 million to make the campus emissions-free by 2010. Additionally, the British Columbia Institute of Technology has received $39.1 million to renovate a building on its Burnaby campus. The Campus Gateway Building project will include energy efficiency upgrades such as a micro-electricity grid that harnesses alternative energy sources.
Centre College Dorm Receives LEED Gold
Centre College's (KY) Pearl Hall has received LEED Gold certification. The residence hall features a variable irrigation system, which eliminates the need for permanent and constant use of water for irrigation; low-flow shower heads, lavatories, and sinks and dual-flush toilets; controllability of lighting, heating and cooling; recycling containers throughout the building; front-loading washing machines; high recycled content and regional materials within the structure of the building; and a geothermal heating and cooling system. The building opened in August 2008 and is the first building in Kentucky to receive Gold certification.
Worchester Polytechnic Institute Building Receives Green Award
Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (MA) newest residence hall, East Hall, has been named a Green Building of America Award winner and will be featured in the upcoming Northeast 2009-10 edition of Real Estate & Construction Review: Green Success Stories , published by Construction Communications. East Hall features a green roof, white roofing, natural daylighting, bike storage, and 12 dedicated parking spaces for hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles. The award's goal is to publicize and showcase team members that contribute to helping the environment.
Yale Opens Green Academic Building
Yale University (CT) has opened Kroon Hall, an academic building designed to use 50 percent less energy than a comparably sized building. The $33.5 million building, which will house the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, is expected to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The 56,467-square-foot structure features red oak from the University's own sustainably harvest forests, and east-west orientation, natural daylighting, light and occupancy sensors, a 100 kW rooftop solar array, geothermal heating and cooling, and a rainwater-harvesting system.
Mass College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Opens Green Building
The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has opened its Richard E. Griffin Academic Center, a new six-story academic building. Construction of the facility began in September 2007 and was completed in January 2009. Green features include white roof, a rainwater collection system, low VOC carpeting and paint, and natural lighting. The College says the structure is consistent with LEED certification standards.
