Less than a year after receiving national recognition for its modernity, the Kuhlin Center is the recipient of another award. The US Green Building Council honoured the home of the University’s School of Media and Communication for its green design. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gave the recently renovated building a Gold certification for earning 62 out of 110 points for various sustainability features. Key design aspects recognised by the LEED Scorecard include recycled and regional materials, power from renewable resources and sustainable structural elements.
Beyond the criteria of LEED certification, the Kuhlin Center also upholds sustainable landscaping due to the support of the University’s Student Green Initiatives Fund. The Kuhlin Center earned 10 out of 14 points for the Materials and Resources portion of the Scorecard. Of all the materials used for the building, 24.96 per cent were made from recycled materials.
Materials are considered regional when they’re “products that have been manufactured and extracted within 500 miles of the project site,” according to the LEED Certification Review Report. The Kuhlin Center’s regional materials made up 21.89 per cent of the total building products. Green power, the use of renewable energy resources, was another important criterion for the Gold certification.
