Building 25 Earns LEED Platinum Certification

The renovation of Building 25 earned the University its first Platinum LEED rating — the highest available. (Photos by Patrick Dodson)

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 15, 2018) — Building 25 looks the same from the outside — classic Edward Durell Stone lines in a two-story building set among the pines.

But a nearly two-year-long project changed the academic building both inside and out, and last month the University got the plaque to prove it: a Platinum LEED certification, the highest rating for energy-efficient design. It’s the first building on campus to achieve a platinum rating.

The renovated 29,000-square-foot building now uses 39 percent less energy and 37 percent less water than a similarly sized building built to standard code.

The interior of Building 25 was completely redone with energy efficiency in mind; the official LEED plaque arrived last month.

Energy savings come from a variety of sources, including an advanced lighting and mechanical control system that automatically turns off or dials back systems when building spaces are unoccupied, according to Indu, the University’s energy officer.

“We are metering electricity use by system, gas use and chilled water use on the building and we have a robust building management system that can be used to continuously monitor building performance and address any deviations,” she said.

The reduction in water use comes from low-flow plumbing fixtures and toilets. The parking lot utilizes porous asphalt to improve storm water quality and reduce runoff.

During construction, the project reduced its environmental footprint by diverting 77 percent construction waste from landfills and used 34 percent recycled content. Twenty percent of the construction materials came from within a 500-mile radius of the University, and 64 percent of lumber used was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. In addition, the project used of low-emitting adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, flooring and composite wood, which improves the indoor air quality of the building.

Construction on Building 25 began in October of 2015, and occupants — the Economics and Africana Studies departments as well as the Title IX and Licensing offices — began moving in July of 2017, said project manager John Baldwin. The construction cost was about $11 million.

While Building 25 is the first Platinum LEED building on campus, UAlbany is proving to be a leader within the SUNY system on energy and sustainability initiatives. Liberty Terrace, the Massry Center for Business, the Information Technology Building and Mohawk Tower all received LEED Gold certification. Renovations at Service Building A, Husted Hall and the Institute of RNA Science and Technology in the Life Sciences Building all earned LEED Silver ratings. Design and construction of the new ETEC building is expected to garner a Gold or better LEED rating.

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