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August 06, 2007, 09:19 AM ET
News and Notes About LEED Buildings
A number of notable stories about LEED buildings have appeared recently. As most who read Buildings & Grounds already know, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — it’s the well-known certification program for green buildings.
Building B of Arizona State University’s new Biodesign Institute was recently rated LEED Platinum, the highest ranking. (Building A, which opened three years ago, earned a Gold rating.) Officials say this is the first platinum-rated building in Arizona. Arizona State, which has aggressively pursued sustainability initiatives, requires all new buildings on campus to meet LEED standards. A renovated library building at the University of Florida has earned a LEED Gold rating. Like Arizona State, the University of Florida has pursued a comprehensive sustainability program. Its efforts were a focus of a story in The Chronicle’s sustainability package last year. An opinion piece in The Gazette complains that LEED requirements will hold up the construction of graduate-student housing near the University of Maryland at College Park. Laura Moore, the student who wrote the op-ed, says county officials imposed LEED requirements too late in the planning process. She calls herself an environmentalist and says she was excited about the restoration of a natural site that was part of the project. Lehigh University is planning a $55-million environmental-science building that will be LEED certified and include a green roof. Florida Atlantic University is planning to go for platinum with a building for its engineering college.
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