LEED Certification

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Strategies

The Communication Arts Center serves as a model for incorporating sustainable design principles in architectural design and the building operations.

The LEED strategy reduces:

• Site and development impacts
• Transportation (vehicle) impacts
• CO2 pollution
• Energy costs
• Material use/waste
• Harmful air contaminants

This $13.9 million, 52,100 sq ft building is located on the Fox Cities campus on a compacted footprint to incorporate a more eco-friendly design. This building includes the 362-seat Perry Hall, the classroom/black box Baehman Theatre and Aylward art gallery, as well as support spaces such as scene shops, dressing rooms, concessions and lobby.

LEED Strategy

• LEED ® is a rating system used by the United States Green Building Council to gauge the level of sustainability, or “greenness” in a building. This building is a registered LEED project and is striving for “Gold Certification.”
• According to study results released by the New Buildings Institute and CoStar group, new buildings certified under the U.S.. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system, on average, perform 25 percent to 30 percent better than non-LEED certified buildings in terms of energy use.

Site Sustainability

• 100 percent of the stormwater is held on site to allow for replenishing of the aquifers and to prevent erosion.
• Preferred parking is reserved for low emission and fuel-efficient vehicles.
• Native plantings reduce the need for fertilizers and irrigation.
• No new parking was added to the project, reducing the need for pavement and loss of biomass.

Water Efficiency

• 40 percent reduction in water usage which exceeds the LEED requirement by 10 percent.
• No irrigation for landscaping was installed.

Energy Conservation

• This building is designed to be 30 percent to 35 percent more energy efficient than a facility built using standard construction practices and regulatory requirements.
• Energy recover ventilation system allows for the heat recovery of preheated ventilation air to be used to heat the incoming fresh air.
• Energy modeling allowed for “right-sizing” of the buildings insulation requirements.
• Building commissioning confirmed that the building system functions according to criteria set forth in the project and is operating in a manner that achieves the energy performance goals.
• An on-site 6.3 kW photovoltaic solar electric generation system will be providing renewable energy for the building. The building will measure and monitor the performance of the renewable energy system as well as a few other building utility performances.

Green Construction

• Green products and materials
• All wood used in the project is from certified sustainable forests. (FSC)
• 20 percent post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled materials.
• Recycled fly ash in concrete.
• 30 percent recycled steel.
• Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) no off gassing of paints and adhesives.
• Use of 20 percent regional processed and manufactured materials.
• 75 percent of construction waste management is being diverted from disposal.
• Storage and collection of recyclables.

Human Health and Safety for Occupants

• Improved ventilation of the space provides exceptional indoor air quality. The use of the ventilation heat recovery system allows for improved ventilation without increasing energy use.
• Lighting and heating system Control. During building occupancy, full time occupants have this ability to control lighting and heating system to determine their own comfort.
• A green cleaning program will be used for the maintenance and operations of the building.

Education

The building and the sustainability strategies will be used to educate the public and Fox Cities campus students, about the value of building eco-effective solutions.