The U.S.
Green Building Council awarded the Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification to Santa
Clara University's Paul
Locatelli Student Activity Center. The rating recognizes the
efficient use of energy and resources during the construction and
operation of the 16,284-square-foot student center. Santa
Clara University will celebrate its achievement on Monday, Nov. 28
at 3:00 p.m., at which time the university will unveil its LEED Gold
Certification plaque at the Locatelli
Student Activity Center.
Built in 2010, the center is designed to blend in with other buildings
on campus and integrates energy-efficient features like trellises and
overhangs to reduce direct solar gain on the south and west face of the
building.
Use of mortar-free pavers and decomposed granite for walkways around the
building reduce water runoff. Unlike traditional cement sidewalks, which
are completely watertight and drive water toward storm drains to flow
straight into the Bay, brick pavers are permeable and allow water to
pass through them. Water runoff from the building is diverted to
planting areas to increase the infiltration rate and reduce the impact
of storm water.
Paints, surface coatings, and adhesives in the center were chosen based
on their low-emissions or non-emissions of volatile organic compounds.
Carpets are certified "Green Label" by the Carpet
and Rug Institute, meaning the carpets are the lowest emitting
carpet products on the market.
The center is also equipped with standard university recycling, waste,
and composting bins, encouraging students to divert their waste from the
landfill.
The center was completed in June of 2010 in honor of the longest serving
university president, Paul
Locatelli, S.J., who passed away in July of 2010 from pancreatic
cancer. The structure was created as a center for student groups and
activities, housing large multipurpose rooms and conference rooms. While
the second floor has office spaces for student organizations, the lower
floor is a 6,000-square-foot assembly hall, complete with disco ball
suspended from the 20-foot ceiling.
The center is the greenest building on campus, said Joe Sugg, assistant
vice president for university operations at SCU. "The emphasis on energy
conservation and use of materials that are environmentally friendly
easily garnered LEED gold certification, one of the highest rating for
building sustainability," he said.
Energy efficiency and sustainability are priorities at Santa
Clara University in order to become climate
neutral by the end of 2015, as promised by SCU President Michael
Engh, S.J. The university has launched several initiatives to achieve
this goal, including installing solar panels, a solar thermal collector,
a smart microgrid, and a wind turbine. Santa Clara's efforts are paying
off. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently honored the
university with a 2011
Green Power Leadership Award.
Learn more about Santa Clara University's sustainability
initiatives.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university
located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley,
offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in
arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master's
and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one
of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities,
California's oldest operating highereducation institution demonstrates
faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more
information, see www.scu.edu.
