Marshall University’s year-old Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Complex has been awarded LEED Gold level certification.
The four story engineering complex opened just last fall on Marshall’s Huntington campus. In construction of the facility the university was aiming for LEED Silver Certification, a lesser recognition. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The LEED rating system is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council as the guide for buildings constructed, maintained and operated for environmental performance.
Travis Bailey is the Environmental Specialist in the Health and Safety Department at Marshall.
“This building is 25% more efficient than a building of similar size,” Bailey said. “Another one is water efficiency, we are 40% more efficient than a building of similar size, so we’re saving water and energy at the same time and with that we’re also collected rain water.”
Among the features built into the facility to help achieve those efficiencies is a rooftop green space that helps cut down on the amount of water that runs off the building. Bailey said it’s an example he hopes will be followed by other building designers both on and off college campuses.
“I think it’s huge, it’s a goal and standard we need to start shooting for,” Bailey said. “It’s a statement that we are here to be environmentally friendly. It’s easy to build buildings, but it’s a little harder, takes more time a little more money to build environmentally friendly buildings, but that’s the way we should be heading.”
The engineering complex is just the 7th building in West Virginia to achieve gold status.