This is the country’s greenest academic building

According to the University of California, Berkeley, Chou Hall, part of the Haas School of Business, has become the greenest academic building in the country thanks to its TRUE Platinum Zero Waste certification at the highest level and a LEED Platinum certification. Chou Hall is the only academic building in the country to achieve TRUE Platinum. To achieve TRUE Platinum, the Chou team earned 69 out of the 70 credits they applied for.

The six-story, 80,000-sf building, designed by Perkins+Will and opened in August 2017, earned the TRUE Platinum Zero Waste certification after more than a year of waste sorting, composting, and other concentrated efforts to divert over 90% of Chou’s landfill waste. Design features such as rainwater harvesting, water-efficient landscaping, and the use of water-saving toilets and bathroom fixtures, help Chou Hall use 40% less water than a traditional building of its size and purpose. Energy efficiency was improved by 38% over traditional buildings through solar shading, high-performance windows, a reflective roof, daylight controlled LED lighting, and cooling fans and pumps controlled by adjustable-speed drives.

The facility includes eight tiered classrooms with 76-140 seats each, a 300 person event space, a 3,000-sf cafe with outdoor seating, 28 study rooms, four flexible classrooms, and a total of 858 classroom seats.

In addition to Perkins+Will, Vance Brown Builders was the project’s general contractor.

A guide focusing on the critical role of grid interactivity in building decarbonization was recently published by ASHRAE. The Grid-Interactive Buildings for Decarbonization: Design and Operation Resource Guide provides information on maximizing carbon reduction through buildings’ interaction with the electric power grid.

75 Top Building Products | Dec 13, 2023

75 top building products for 2023

From a bladeless rooftop wind energy system, to a troffer light fixture with built-in continuous visible light disinfection, innovation is plentiful in Building Design+Construction's annual 75 Top Products report.

Codes and Standards | Dec 11, 2023

Washington state tries new approach to phase out fossil fuels in new construction

After pausing a heat pump mandate earlier this year after a federal court overturned Berkeley, Calif.’s ban on gas appliances in new buildings, Washington state enacted a new code provision that seems poised to achieve the same goal.

Green | Dec 11, 2023

U.S. has tools to meet commercial building sector decarbonization goals early

The U.S. has the tools to reduce commercial building-related emissions to reach target goals in 2029, earlier than what it committed to when it signed the Paris Agreement, according to a report by the U.S. Green Building Council.

AA new report offers guidance for buying and using greener building materials.

Industry Research | Dec 9, 2023

Two new reports provide guidance for choosing healthier building products

The authors, Perkins&Will and the Healthy Building Network, home in on drywall, flooring, and insulation.The authors, Perkins&Will and the Healthy Building Network, home in on drywall, flooring, and insulation.

Yale University breaks ground on the nation's largest Living Building student housing complex

University Buildings | Dec 8, 2023

Yale University breaks ground on nation's largest Living Building student housing complex

A groundbreaking on Oct. 11 kicked off a project aiming to construct the largest Living Building Challenge-certified residence on a university campus. The Living Village, a 45,000 sf home for Yale University Divinity School graduate students, “will make an ecological statement about the need to build in harmony with the natural world while training students to become ‘apostles of the environment’,” according to Bruner/Cott, which is leading the design team that includes Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Andropogon Associates.