The new rust-hued University of Arizona building on East Sixth Street is officially green.
The Environment and Natural Resources Building 2, designed to be a model of sustainable building practices, has received a LEED platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The rating, the highest given by the council, reflects the building’s attention to sustainable building practices and energy savings, said Peter Dourlein, UA assistant vice president and head of Planning, Design and Construction.
It would have been embarrassing to receive a lesser rating. Built to house scientists from a variety of disciplines that research environmental and climate issues, the building is also home to the UA’s Institute of the Environment.
“It is meant to be the flagship of sustainability in design and construction for us,” Dourlein said.
It is the fourth building on campus to be certified platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The expressed goal of the university is to achieve at least silver in all its construction, two rungs down from the platinum rating.
But the university has found that with a little more effort, the higher ratings can be achieved, Dourlein said. This is the fourth platinum building on campus. Five others have achieved gold or silver status.
The UA has a built-in edge in compiling LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) points. It is already a center for alternative transportation, so it gains points for users who walk, bike and take public transportation. It also benefits from campus-wide efficiencies in power plant, Dourlein said.
The building, designed by Phoenix architect James Richard and G L H N Architects And Engineers, is block, shaded with metal fins. Its wavy interior courtyard is meant to resemble a slot canyon.
The building uses daylight and directed task lighting, harvests and reuses almost all the water that falls on site, and uses a chilled-beam cooling system, among other sustainable features.
