Laurel Hall, a 67,000-square-foot classroom building that opened in 2011 on the University of Connecticut’s flagship Storrs campus, has received LEED Gold Certification for its environmentally friendly design and construction.
The building contains two large lecture halls seating 200 and 400, and 17 other classrooms that seat between 25 and 70. Skanska USA Building Inc. was the general contractor, and Boston-based Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects served as the project architect and engineer.
The certification is the highest achieved so far for a building at UConn, which has been following LEED green standards for all new construction design and renovation projects since adopting a policy in 2007 for sustainable methods in all major projects.
LEED-certified buildings are designed with environmentally friendly factors in mind to reduce operating costs, conserve energy and water, cut down on waste sent to landfills, reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure a healthy working environment for occupants. The U.S. Green Building Council confers the certification after a review process.
"Achieving our first LEED Gold Certified new building at UConn shows a strong institutional commitment not only to conserving natural resources but also to providing high-performance buildings for educating our students," Richard A. Miller, UConn’s director of environmental policy, said in a statement.
"Laurel Hall’s LEED Gold certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership," Al Gogolin, senior vice president overseeing Skanska USA Building’s Connecticut operations said in a statement. "Reaching this distinguished status is a true testament to the hard work and collaboration of the team who worked on this project, including our partners – the campus officials, planners, designers and architects."
Laurel Hall was designed to include features such as energy-saving window glazing, low-flow valves and faucets, high-performance insulation, and use of rapidly renewable materials such as bamboo, recycled copper and other green materials.
UConn also holds silver certification on two buildings on the Storrs campus: the Charles B. Gentry Building, and the Burton Family Football Complex & Mark R. Shenkman Training Center.
