Energy Efficient
College Park Center achieves LEED Gold certification for embracing environment
Summer 2012 · Comment ·
You can add gold to College Park Center’s sterling credentials. The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification to UT Arlington’s 7,000-seat special events showpiece.
LEED certification is an independent, third-party verification that a structure is designed and built using strategies that achieve high performance in environmental health, sustainability, water and energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
HKS designed the $78 million center, incorporating recycled construction materials and many energy-saving features. The company’s application for LEED certification received a perfect score, earning all 42 points for which it applied.
“The center emphasizes energy efficiency, natural light, and thoughtful landscaping in a new venue that defines the University’s eastern edge,” says Ralph Hawkins ’73, HKS chairman and chief executive officer. “The project is proof positive that architecture and sustainability can coexist in a premiere venue.”
More than 40 percent of the building material came from within 500 miles of campus, and nearly 30 percent was manufactured using recycled materials. More than 85 percent of construction waste was recycled.
“This is wonderful recognition that large, public spaces can be articulated in a way that embraces their environment,” says UT Arlington President James
D. Spaniolo. “We are pleased to be able to say that our university is helping set the standard for sustainable design.”
College Park Center, which opened in February, is the centerpiece of the College Park District, a 20-acre, $160 million development that includes a residence hall and apartments for 600 students and 27,000 square feet of street-level retail. The development will open fully this summer.
