The Campus Recreation Center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is the first public building in southern Colorado to earn Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design gold certification status from the U.S. Green Building Council.<\/p>\n
The building is also believed to be the only LEED gold-certified recreation center in the nation.<\/p>\n
LEED is the Green Building Council\u2019s rating system for designing and constructing the greenest, most energy efficient and high-performing buildings. UCCS officials were notified Tuesday of the certification. The Campus Recreation Center opened in Aug. 2007 and features a swimming pool, basketball courts, exercise rooms and panoramic views of Pikes Peak in addition to numerous innovative features such as solar thermal panels, insulated concrete form walls and low-maintenance landscaping.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis certification surpassed our expectations, serving as an example of the commitment of the project team to excellence,\u201d Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak said. \u201cI am appreciative of the work of staff, students, design team and both architects and contractor to make this the first public building in our region to earn gold status.\u201d<\/p>\n
The $12 million 54,000-square-foot Campus Recreation Center was constructed using student fees. Additionally, students, particularly the members of the Students for Environmental Awareness and Sustainability group, advocated that the new building should be the first campus building to be officially certified as \u201cgreen.\u201d Those efforts will have long-term economic and ecologic benefits, according to Linda Kogan, sustainability director.<\/p>\n
Kogan said the Campus Recreation Center is designed to be 30 percent more energy efficient and 38 percent more water efficient than comparable buildings that used conventional building techniques. That efficiency should translate into a $30,000 annual savings in utility bills, she said.<\/p>\n
The project received two grants from the Governor\u2019s Energy Office for its pursuit of high performance design. The Farnsworth Group provided consultation services. Sink Combs Dethlefs Architects, Denver, designed the building. Adolfson and Peterson Construction served as the general contractor.<\/p>\n
In certifying buildings, the U.S. Green Building Council reviews dozens of criteria ranging from the use of local materials, energy efficiency, the amount of recycled materials used, use of natural light and the amount of open space. <\/p>\n
For more about the certification process, visit http:\/\/www.usgbc.org\/<\/p>\n
The Campus Recreation Center is the first building at UCCS to receive LEED certification. An under construction Science and Engineering Building, as well as two UCCS buildings undergoing renovation or expansion, will seek LEED certification. Other public buildings in Colorado Springs to achieve certification include Colorado Springs Utilities Lab which achieved LEED Silver Certification and offices of the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department which is LEED certified.<\/p>\n
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The University offers 30 bachelor\u2019s degrees, 19 master\u2019s and four doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 8,000 students annually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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