Green Architecture of the University Center
Energy Conservation
Clerestories (walls with a band of narrow windows at top) for natural lighting
Retractable skylights for natural lighting
Large windows for natural lighting
Operable doors for natural lighting and cooling.
Ventilation system that pushes air contaminants out of the building.
Mixed-mode heating and air conditioning system for natural ventilation
Daylight sensors to control amount of light in building
Hi-powered hand dryers in bathrooms designed to conserve energy.
Water Conservation
Will use 50 percent less water than other conventional buildings
Low-water usage dish washers
Restrooms with dual-flush toilets.
Non-drinkable water pumped from the Calaveras River for irrigation
Recycled Materials
Recycled glass tiles in the restrooms
Concrete in lobby
Used tires on roof
Recycled wood on deck and in ceiling
Recycled fabric panels in events space
Natural Resources
Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood from responsibly managed forest
Non-toxic paint on outside conference space, paint contains no organic gases or VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
Rainwater runoff will be filtered through nearby vegetated swales to remove contaminants before entering city’s storm drain and water system
Signage
Self-guiding signage program that describes green strategies
(LEED Background Information)
Certification Process
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. The program was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C.
The LEED system is designed to promote a “whole-building approach to sustainability” through five key areas of human and environmental health; sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality LEED-certified projects usually cost less to operate and maintain than conventional buildings largely because they are energy- and water- efficient. On average, they save 30 percent on energy and up to 50 percent on drinkable water compared to conventional buildings.
The five steps for certification are:
register online
implement the necessary operation improvements and equipment upgrades
document building performance data and operational procedures
submit an application
receive a final review from the USGBC Green Council
The University is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Other members include Santa Clara University, Stanford University, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, San Diego State, MIT and Harvard.
The nonprofit organization aims to expand “sustainable building practices.”
The council’s mission is to “transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.”
The council is made up of more than 13,500 organizations across the building industry and has more than 70 chapters nationwide providing green building resources, education and networking opportunities. Members include real estate developers, facility managers, designers, engineers, general contractors, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
The annual U.S. market in green building products and services was $12 billion in 2007 and is projected to increase to $60 billion by 2010. LEED Certified Buildings State and local governments across the country are adopting LEED for public-owned and public-funded buildings. Federal agencies, such as the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Energy, and State have LEED initiatives.
LEED projects are being developed in 41 countries, including Canada, Brazil, Mexico and India. Across the country, institutions of higher education are also constructing buildings that meet LEED standards. In California alone, more than 80 colleges, universities and other educational institutions are building green buildings and are in the process of seeking LEED certification, including UCLA, California State University, San Bernardino and Berkeley City College. Cost of Building Green Report on Green Costs
In a 2004 report, Lisa Fay Matthiessen and Peter Morris of cost-management firm Davis Langdon concluded that constructing a green building can have minimal affect—if any—on construction costs if sustainability goals are discussed and integrated early in the design process.
In their report, “Costing Green: A Comprehensive Cost Database and Budgeting Methodology,” they dissect the U.S Green Building Council’s LEED guidelines for new construction and found “that many projects achieve sustainable design within their initial budget, or with very small supplemental funding.”
As part of their research, they analyzed 52 academic classroom buildings that were green (15 LEED-seeking projects and 37 non-LEED projects). They found that “there was no indication that the LEED-seeking projects tended to be any more expensive than the non-LEED. The difference between average cost per square foot was, again, statistically insignificant for academic classroom buildings.”
University of Cincinnati’s Student CenterWhen University of Cincinnati built its $26 million, 72,000-square-foot student center (the Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center) - the first LEED-certified building in Cincinnati - university officials saw virtually no additional cost from making the building green, according to the University’s architect Mary Beth McGrew.
“There was not a lot of additional funding spent on making this a certified building in terms of construction costs,” McGrew said in response to an inquiry by Pacific. “Most of the literature I see lately confirms there is no additional construction cost for basic or silver (LEED certification).”
Major League Baseball Stadium
The Washington Nationals major league baseball team recently built a new stadium in Washington, D.C. that meets LEED silver standards. The $611 million ballpark is the first LEED-certified stadium in the major leagues. One of the stadium’s architects was quoted in April’s issue of Fast Company magazine as saying the cost of making the ballpark was substantially less than expected.
“We’d heard it would be $10 million or $20 million more than normal to build a LEED-certified park,” says architect Joe Spear of HOK Sport, which designed the stadium with Devrouax + Purnell. “In the end, it was pretty affordable – somewhere around $2 million more (out of the total cost).” Some of the construction costs will be recouped due to the green components, such as the state-of-the-art high-efficiency field lighting, which uses 21 percent less energy than conventional lighting, he said.