New College’s new wing of the Heiser Natural Sciences Complex has been given a Gold LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally-recognized green building certification system promoting sustainable building and development practices through a rating system that promotes better environmental and health performance. In awarding it’s Gold certification, the Council’s president, Mahesh Ranafian, said the building is “a showcase example of sustainability and demonstrates your leadership in transforming the building industry.” The designation also comes with a glass plaque that will be displayed inside Heiser, according to the College’s coordinator of construction projects, John Milton.
The 22,000-square-foot addition houses the division and chair’s offices, eight faculty offices, a computer sciences reading room, a physics teaching lab with support spaces, and a conference room and large classroom that can be converted to research laboratory space in the future.
This is not the first time New College has earned LEED certification. The Academic Center, or ACE building, was awarded Gold certification in 2011 for features including toilets that use residual rainwater from the roof and air conditioning condensate, carbon dioxide sensors that measure air quality and adjust the air conditioning accordingly, and high-efficiency windows. More than 85 percent of construction site debris was recycled.