University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Residence Hall Earns LEED Silver Certification

BRADFORD, PA –The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s newest residence hall, the $17-million, 170-bed Livingston Alexander House, has earned LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the first building on the campus to achieve LEED certification.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is green building certification that takes into account sustainability considerations that include green construction practices, water and energy efficiency, and more.

“It’s about caring for the environment,” says Rick Esch, vice president of business affairs, about the campus’s latest new facility meeting LEED standards. “Climate change is real. When you build sustainable buildings, it benefits the environment, the health of residents and the health of those constructing and making the materials that go into a LEED-certified building.”

Alexander House, which was completed and dedicated in 2018, was constructed from concrete and lumber from forests certified in sustainable forestry practices. The freshman-only hall is a three-story building wherein residents live in two-person bedrooms within a section of 24-36 students. This arrangement enables each section to have its own special programming and give students opportunities to learn outside the classroom.

High-efficiency heating, ventilating and air conditioning as well as thermal glass and insulation reduce the building’s energy consumption by 30 percent over standard construction. Additionally, the power supplied to Alexander House comes from renewable resources. Paint and carpets used inside the building emit a low level of organic compounds, as do the furnishings made from recycled materials. Even the cleaning supplies used in the residence hall must meet strict standards.

Occupied since the fall of 2018, the building has bike storage for students and parking places for electric vehicles. Plumbing fixtures in the building consume less water.

The construction process created as little waste as possible. The demanding standards of LEED required that even the waste headed to the landfill be measured. Anything that could be recycled was sorted for recycling.

“Between 10 percent and 100 percent of the materials used in all of the furniture is from recycled materials or can be recycled,” says Rhett Kennedy, director of auxiliary services.

Esch said the university’s goal is to achieve LEED status for all new construction on the campus, including a planned academic building to house the new engineering technology and energy engineering technology programs.

Featured

  • University of Kentucky Integrates New Cleaning Technology

    The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., recently installed a new cleaning system designed to improve cooling efficiency on campus, according to a news release. The Facilities Management’s Utilities and Energy Management Unit installed new chiller tubes into two of the chillers at the university’s Central Utility Plant.

  • Agualta STEAM Engine

    Outdoor Learning Spaces and Biophilic Design Create Community in East Los Angeles

    Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School's Agualta STEAM Engine blends education, community, and nature through its adaptable design.

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

  • Singlewire Software Report Reveals Gaps in K–12 School Entrance Security

    Single Software recently released its first-ever School Entrance Security Report based on more than 500 responses from U.S. school staff members. According to a news release, the findings highlight a gap between K–12 leaders’ wishes for school safety and how safe the schools actually are, as well as the challenges facing students and staff in that goal.

Digital Edition