The University of California, Merced, received another Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, this time for the Student Services Building.
The award brings the campus total for LEED certifications through the U.S. Green Building Council to 13, with its newest building, under construction, the second Classroom and Office Building (COB2), expected to also achieve Platinum status.
The campus is holding a topping-off ceremony for COB2 at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, with construction crews placing the uppermost beam on the building that’s expected to open in April 2016. Before the beam is placed, the campus community is invited to sign it, leaving marks and messages for anyone who might see it in the future.
UC Merced continues to be the only campus in the nation with LEED certification for all its facilities.
“UC Merced continues to pave the way in sustainable planning and design, frequently outperforming our objectives through the dedication and hard work of the consultants, contractors and staff involved and inspired by the vision of our leadership,” Campus Architect Thomas Lollini said.
The campus earned LEED Silver certification for the Garden Suites Lake View Dining building; eight Gold certificates for its Central Plant, Science & Engineering 1, the first Classroom and Office Building, the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library, the Joseph Gallo Recreation Center, Sierra Terraces, Early Childhood Education Center and the Logistical Support/Safety Facility; and four Platinum certificates, for the dining expansion, the Social Science and Management building, the Student Activities and Athletic Center and now the Student Services Building. The Early Childhood Education Center is one of the first LEED Gold modular buildings in the country.
Platinum certifications are also pending on two residence halls, called The Summits, and on Science & Engineering 2, which opened this fall.
Earning LEED certifications for design is only one of the campus’s goals. The facilities department is also conducting audits of operations in every building on campus, from energy use to procurement procedures, to earn LEED recognition for the use and maintenance of the buildings.
The campus earlier this year won The California Architectural Foundation’s Owings Award for Environmental Excellence, recognizing UC Merced’s first development phase for its holistic view toward sustainability.
The campus’s master plan has won nine awards, including several from the American Institute of Architects, The Society of Campus and University Planners, the International Green Industry Hall of Fame, and the California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award.
Though UC Merced has been honored for “cutting-edge sustainability in design and construction” of its buildings, the campus continues to undertake ambitious sustainability efforts, including its Triple Zero commitment to create zero landfill waste, consume zero net energy and produce zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The campus also plans to be nearly 90 percent powered by renewable energy by the end of 2016.
“There’s no other campus like UC Merced in the country,” Assistant Vice Chancellor of Strategic Facilities Planning Graeme Mitchell said. “This is a very special place.”
The campus pioneered the use of energy benchmarks, setting increasingly aggressive energy budgets for its buildings. Its buildings are designed to be 50% to 60% more energy efficient than their counterparts in the UC system, and 40 percent more water efficient.
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2010
How to Win More University Projects
University architects representing four prominent institutions of higher learning tell how your firm can get the inside track on major projects.
| Nov 23, 2010
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will house the former president’s library
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will house the former president’s library and museum, plus the Bush Institute, is aiming for LEED Platinum. The 226,565-sf center, located at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, was designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern and landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.
| Nov 9, 2010
Just how green is that college campus?
The College Sustainability Report Card 2011 evaluated colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada with the 300 largest endowments—plus 22 others that asked to be included in the GreenReportCard.org study—on nine categories, including climate change, energy use, green building, and investment priorities. More than half (56%) earned a B or better, but 6% got a D. Can you guess which is the greenest of these: UC San Diego, Dickinson College, University of Calgary, and Dartmouth? Hint: The Red Devil has turned green.
| Nov 9, 2010
Designing a library? Don’t focus on books
How do you design a library when print books are no longer its core business? Turn them into massive study halls. That’s what designers did at the University of Amsterdam, where they transformed the existing 27,000-sf library into a study center—without any visible books. About 2,000 students visit the facility daily and encounter workspaces instead of stacks.
| Nov 3, 2010
First of three green labs opens at Iowa State University
Designed by ZGF Architects, in association with OPN Architects, the Biorenewable Research Laboratory on the Ames campus of Iowa State University is the first of three projects completed as part of the school’s Biorenewables Complex. The 71,800-sf LEED Gold project is one of three wings that will make up the 210,000-sf complex.
| Nov 3, 2010
Seattle University’s expanded library trying for LEED Gold
Pfeiffer Partners Architects, in collaboration with Mithun Architects, programmed, planned, and designed the $55 million renovation and expansion of Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons at Seattle University. The LEED-Gold-designed facility’s green features include daylighting, sustainable and recycled materials, and a rain garden.
| Nov 3, 2010
Recreation center targets student health, earns LEED Platinum
Not only is the student recreation center at the University of Arizona, Tucson, the hub of student life but its new 54,000-sf addition is also super-green, having recently attained LEED Platinum certification.
| Nov 3, 2010
Virginia biofuel research center moving along
The Sustainable Energy Technology Center has broken ground in October on the Danville, Va., campus of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. The 25,000-sf facility will be used to develop enhanced bio-based fuels, and will house research laboratories, support labs, graduate student research space, and faculty offices. Rainwater harvesting, a vegetated roof, low-VOC and recycled materials, photovoltaic panels, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and water-saving systems, and LED light fixtures will be deployed. Dewberry served as lead architect, with Lord Aeck & Sargent serving as laboratory designer and sustainability consultant. Perigon Engineering consulted on high-bay process labs. New Atlantic Contracting is building the facility.
| Nov 3, 2010
Dining center cooks up LEED Platinum rating
Students at Bowling Green State University in Ohio will be eating in a new LEED Platinum multiuse dining center next fall. The 30,000-sf McDonald Dining Center will have a 700-seat main dining room, a quick-service restaurant, retail space, and multiple areas for students to gather inside and out, including a fire pit and several patios—one of them on the rooftop.
| Nov 1, 2010
John Pearce: First thing I tell designers: Do your homework!
John Pearce, FAIA, University Architect at Duke University, Durham, N.C., tells BD+C’s Robert Cassidy about the school’s construction plans and sustainability efforts, how to land work at Duke, and why he’s proceeding with caution when it comes to BIM.
