New Building LEED Certification

With the eventual completion of the new MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center, the MSU Campus will have many new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. While the building specific purpose will be to provide assistance in accomplishing those goals, the actual construction of the new facility is also going to help reduce, reuse and recycle just through the design and construction of the new facility. The new building has been completely designed with these concepts in mind based on LEED standards, with the goal of being environmentally friendly and sustainable. So what are LEED standards?

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Started in 1993 by the U.S. Green Building Council, this certification program promotes building and construction practices that are environmentally friendly, economical and sustainable. Currently there are four levels of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. We are expecting to achieve Silver certification for the new MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center. This will be the second building on campus to achieve this status (Chemistry building addition was the first) and the first building to be completely designed and built to these standards.

Here are some of the different methods and systems being adopted to meet LEED Certification in the new MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center:

1. Rain water collection cistern will use gray water for flushing toilets reducing water demands
2. Low flow plumbing fixtures, to reduce water usage by over 30%
3. There will be a Photovoltaic Array on the roof with a real time display in the lobby to display the electricity generated which should be over 7.5% of the buildings energy coming from these renewable sources
4. Motion sensors to control lighting, if lights are not turned off when users leave a space these will automatically shut off
5. Materials used in the construction are made of over 20% post-consumer content and 1/2 pre-consumer recycled content
6. Over 75% of waste from construction is being diverted from landfills through recycling inactivates
7. Art work and other design elements found in the building will be made from recycled materials
8. Plenty of bike rack storage and showers for bikers to support alternative transportation methods
9. Landscape materials found on the exteriors will require no irrigation at all
10. The recycling public drop off center will have LED lighting at to reduce sky-glow and the impact on nocturnal environments
11. Porous pavement for portions of the parking area to improve on-site infiltration, reducing pollution runoff and other contaminants
12. Adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, carpet, wood and agrifibers used in construction have low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) for better indoor air quality
13. Mechanical systems and controls will reduce the amount of energy consumed inthe building by over 24.5%
14. Over 20% of building materials are extracted, processed and manufactured regionally supporting the local economy