Going green: Rice commits to building energy-saving, eco-friendly facilities

Going green: Rice commits to building energy-saving, eco-friendly facilities

BY ARIE WILSON
Rice News staff

Rice University has a “green” vision for the future.

As part of a broader series of campus-wide sustainability efforts, all new buildings on the Rice campus will be constructed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED program employs criterion for environmentally sensitive construction, focusing on five major areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

Barbara White Bryson

Barbara White Bryson, associate vice president of Facilities Engineering & Planning (FE&P), said the decision to achieve LEED certification on all new buildings constructed on campus is important because of the “focused conversions that the [LEED] process facilitates.”

“Although Rice has always been interested in building durable facilities, minimizing waste and maximizing energy efficiency, the LEED evaluation process permits us to consider decisions specifically through a filter that reflects sustainability values,” White Bryson said. “Regardless of one’s personal perspective on global warming or our personal impact on the environment, discussion regarding LEED and sustainable practices constitutes a win-win [situation] for all members of the Rice community.”

Within the last couple of years, the argument for green construction has become even more convincing, said Rice’s sustainability planner, Richard Johnson ’92.

“Green building is compelling on a number of dimensions,” Johnson said. “It saves on utilities, improves indoor air quality and increases building-occupant productivity.”

Richard Johnson

The first building on campus that will be LEED-certified will be the Collaborative Research Center, planned for the site at University Boulevard and Main Street. Two new residential colleges, both built to LEED standards, are scheduled to open in the fall of 2009.

As the projects are developed, FE&P will determine at which of the four levels of LEED certification the new building will be constructed. The levels — certified, silver, gold and platinum — are determined via a checklist-driven point system.

“We will definitely build to the minimum LEED level [certified],” Johnson said. “However, whether we decide to move forward with a design that hits the higher ratings will be judged on a case-by-case basis.”

Rice is not the only area institution seeking LEED certification. The University of Texas Health Science Center–Houston expects its award-winning School of Nursing building, located in the Texas Medical Center, to receive LEED gold rating. The new Montessori facility at Saint Catherine’s was also designed to LEED standards.

Johnson said buildings under construction by NASA and the city of Houston are being constructed to LEED standards as well.