The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has certified Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Art and Design Building as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold building. It is the first building on the SIUE campus to achieve that distinction.
LEED certification is an official recognition that a project complies with the requirements prescribed within the LEED rating systems as created and maintained by the USGBC. The LEED certification program is administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
“SIUE is committed to environmental stability both inside and outside the classroom, and the Art and Design building is testament to that,” said SIUE Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe. “Providing state-of-the-art facilities supports our mission to provide an excellent educational experience for faculty and students.”
SIUE’s Art and Design LEED construction review submission scored 63 points out of a possible 110. The following categories were scored:
- Sustainable sites
- Water efficiency
- Materials and resources
- Energy and atmosphere
- Innovation and design
- Indoor environmental quality
- Regional priority credits
This will make SIUE fourth in the number of LEED buildings on University campuses in Illinois and Missouri. The three ahead of SIUE are University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“The Trivers team was committed to the collaboration, helping to manifest the University’s goals and approach to a sustainable environment,” said Joel Fuoss, lead architect on the project from Trivers Associates in St. Louis. “The building design itself celebrates the wonderful and extensive natural environment that surrounds the campus, reminding the occupants within of the surrounding beauty.
“With buildings consuming nearly 40% of the U.S. primary energy use, we must be prudent in our approach to how we plan, construct, and utilize all of our structures for the long-term, and the Art and Design building embodies that process. This building consumes nearly 28% less energy than a comparable building not held to these standards.
Fuoss pointed out that nearly 95% of all waste generated during construction on-site was recycled or reused. Most importantly, the building’s systems technology is able to safely exhaust, in an energy efficient manner, the many potential hazardous off-gasses integral during art creation. That allows for an enhanced interior environment for all University users.
The grand opening of the $9 million addition to the Art and Design Building was held earlier this year on March 21. The project added 29,000-square-feet of space including a new art gallery, additional office space, graduate student studio space and classrooms. The addition is located to the west of the existing Art and Design Building. An enclosed bridge joins the existing building and the addition.
When all on-going construction is complete, SIUE will have seven LEED certified buildings:
- Art and Design Building
- The Lucas Athletics Annex
- The new Science Building
- Existing Science Building renovation
- The School of Engineering addition
- The Cougar Village apartment building
- The School of Dental Medicine simulation lab in Alton
LEED silver is mandatory for all Illinois State buildings over 10,000 square feet.
Photo: SIUE Art and Design Building.