TUCSON, Ariz. — A highly used ratings system is finding its way onto college campuses—and it has nothing to do with academics.

Many universities are now required by law to adopt and adhere to certain levels of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system, a rating method used to determine a building’s sustainability.

Universities’ construction divisions knew that although the transition may not be smooth, it was necessary, said Karl Edelhoff, the senior project manager for Arizona State University Architecture, Planning and Construction, the department in charge of campus construction.

"We've always tried to do it, but it's very difficult," he said. "It's a process; it's a very involved process."

And we are just now seeing the results.

Across the western U.S., Pacific-10 schools in Arizona, California and the Pacific Northwest are leading a charge that marries state law and innovative building practices.



Turning green buildings into a reality

For Arizona buildings to meet the sustainable standards, building officials have had to rethink their planning methods over the past four years, an adjustment that has required construction directors and project managers to know the intimate details of what exactly makes up a sustainable structure, Edelhoff said.

All new Arizona buildings must receive LEED certification before the plans are approved and funds allocated.

The LEED system is point-based, where projects are given one of four possible LEED ratings: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. New projects receive a set amount of points, each based on individual measures such as alternative transportation availability, water efficiency, energy performance and collection of recyclables.

"All of our existing site and construction debris is counted and weighed and processed—that's part of the sustainability process," Edelhoff said.

Three Pac-10 buildings 'LEED' by example

A prime example of the newly prioritized LEED buildings is ASU's Weatherup Center, a facility that will be used as the new basketball practice arena. The center is applying for LEED Gold status, with 45 out of a possible 69 LEED points.

The points come from the project's use of recycled materials, water efficiency and the use of solar power via roof panels. The 49,000 square foot facility will cost just over $19 million and is set to break ground April 29.



The University of Arizona began construction on a LEED project in 2008 that is scheduled to be completed and ready to open in January 2010. The $27 million expansion of the Campus Recreation Center will cover more than 55,000 square feet and will be the university's first LEED Silver facility. It will utilize recycled materials, natural light and a drainage area meant to give excess water to nearby plant life, said Juliette Moore, the director of the UA Campus Recreation Center.

"Everything that they're not using to build the building is going to be recycled, and that's all types of material," she said. "If we keep up on the rate we're going, we could potentially get gold."

But while the Weatherup Center is named for a family who gave a large donation for the project, the Campus Recreation Center's story is a long one that began with demands from students and continues as students pay for the center's renovations through the UA student services fee.

"The Rec Center was really popular but it wasn't meeting the needs of students," said Erin Herzog, a co-creator of the expansion plan.

Early conversations between students and Recreation Center officials made it clear that students wanted an expanded facility, Herzog added.

Herzog, now a professional lobbyist for the Arizona Students Association, was a student government senator and soon-to-be student body president during the six-year planning period for the new recreation center. The Associated Students of the University of Arizona strongly encouraged an expansion. With the help of ASUA's seat on the Campus Recreation Center Advisory Committee, plans moved forward with Campus Recreation officials, while students oversaw the development of the plan every step of the way, Herzog said.

Not long after initial ideas became a viable reality—even before the governor's executive order requiring LEED certification took effect—students and Campus Recreation officials alike searched for ways to fill the sustainable needs of the new expansion project.

Moore credits the students for getting the project off to a green start "even before it became a priority for everyone else," she said.

Arizona’s two public institutions south of Flagstaff are not the only universities in the Pac-10 to be affected by sustainability requirements. Washington's governor signed a executive order in 2006 requiring that planned facilities bigger than 5,000 square feet—and any renovations that account for more than 50 percent of a facility—achieve LEED Silver status following construction.

The plan is for all new buildings to be structurally sound for 50 years minimum, a requirement that local universities are finding easy to follow, said Patricia Bergstedt, director of Washington State University Architecture and Engineering Services.

Since part of Washington State's university philosophy calls for energy savings anyway, "it wasn't a big stretch," said Bergstedt, who has earned LEED accreditation.

"We always design for long-lasting buildings," she said, "so we're geared up to meet the requirements."

Although the university is used to sustainable construction, the new executive order requires more record keeping and documenting, requirements that have resulted in a higher up-front cost for many new projects, Bergstedt added.

Cost versus benefits

The increased cost of construction is not lost on Arizona schools, either.

"There are some components that cost a little more," Edelhoff said. "But in theory, over a long period of time (a decade or so), you should be able to recoup the initial capital cost."

It is a sentiment that Moore echoes in her assessment of costs associated with the UA Campus Recreation Center. Because of cost and energy savings from such measures as saved electricity due to the harnessing of natural light, "the project will eventually pay for itself in the end," Moore said.

Because sustainable structures are 25 to 30 percent more efficient than their conventional counterparts, projects typically pay for themselves after four to 10 years, said Rodney Mackey, design manager for Facilities Design and Construction, the UA department in charge of campus construction.

With laws mandating green building practices firmly in place, Pac-10 schools must continue to institute green measures for their buildings into the future, forcing administrators and construction officials to rethink how they think about construction on a daily basis, Herzog said.

"In the long run, it's going to be more beneficial for the campus and the students in the future," she said.