Labovitz School of Business and Economics

Buildings are a crucial component to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  But building sustainably is also a fiscally responsible strategy that can provide modern, elegant places to work and learn.  UMD's Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE) opened in September of 2008, and was the first LEED Gold certified building in the University of Minnesota system.

 

What makes the building sustainable?  First, much care was taken during construction to control waste and select regional, recycled, and eco-certified products.

Construction, by the numbers:

· 59% of the total building materials were manufactured within 500 miles of the project site

· 19% of the total building materials were made from recycled materials

· 65% of wood for new wood-based products is FSC certified

· Construction waste was reduced by 78% (waste was diverted from landfills through re-use and recycling)

While construction numbers are impressive, LEED is not just about construction materials and methods.  The building is also designed for long term savings. 

Energy savings:

Gorgeous and functional, the design of the building itself is meant to save energy.  Building orientation and windows are designed to harvest diffuse daylight to reduce the dependence on artificial light sources. This saves energy while providing great views.  Sensors in the lobby detect the level of natural light coming in, and adjust the artificial lights based on need. Overhangs and fins block unwanted sun in summertime (saving electricity for cooling), without creating excess heat or glare. 

Overall, the building was designed to perform 51 % better than the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) requirements.  Ventilation and air handling systems are serviced with campus steam and chilled water loop, and were outfitted with premium efficiency supply/return fan motors, pump motors.  Variable frequency drives on supply/ return fans and sensible heat recovery systems also help to save energy.  

In classrooms and offices, occupancy sensors control features such as lighting and fans.  Air-supply fans ramp up in offices when occupants turn on their lights, and slow back down when the lights are off, saving electricity when nobody is around. 

Water savings: 

Although water efficiency is a small category in terms of LEED points, LSBE uses some cutting-edge water saving features.  Potable water use reduced by 27% from baseline design through the installation of low-flow urinals and lavatories, low-flow kitchen sinks, dual-flush toilets.  Outdoors, there are no irrigation systems around the building, as bio-retention areas were planted to retain stormwater, using native vegetation and other alternatives to sod. 

 

This is the third entry in a mini-series featuring LEED at UMD. Next installment will explore the Bagley Outdoor Classroom project: the first net-zero energy building at UMD!