Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

sangren hall

Sangren Hall was awarded LEED gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED, which is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was developed by the United States Green Building Council for the design of high-performance, sustainable buildings and interiors. The LEED ratings system is a widely used set of standards for evaluating sustainable, environmentally responsible facility design and construction.

The LEED Building Rating System is organized into several categories:

  • Energy and atmosphere
  • Indoor environmental quality
  • Innovation in design
  • Materials and resources
  • Sustainable sites
  • Water efficiency

There are four different types or classifications of LEED standards:

  1. LEED-NC: for new construction and major renovation projects.
  2. LEED-EB: for existing building operations and maintenance.
  3. LEED-CI: for commercial interior projects.
  4. LEED-CS: for core and shell projects, such as the structure and foundations, the mechanical or HVAC systems, or the building exterior.

The Rating System is based on a project checklist containing 69 items, each worth one point. There are four certification categories:

  1. Certified: at least 26 points plus documentation.
  2. Silver: at least 33 points plus documentation.
  3. Gold: at least 39 points plus documentation.
  4. Platinum: at least 52 points plus documentation.

WMU buildings with LEED Certification

Western Michigan University currently has five buildings that are certified under LEED-EB:

rendering of the college of health and human services building

College of Health and Human Services building located on South Campus.

  • College of Health and Human Services (Gold certified, May 2009): 240,000 sq. ft.
  • Richmond Center for the Visual Arts (Certified, October 2012): 52,517 sq. ft.
  • Chemistry Building (Silver certified, November 2012): 83,331 sq. ft.
  • Brown Hall (Certified, November 2012): 58,258 sq. ft.
  • Sangren Hall (Gold certified, June 2014): 220,000 sq. ft.

WMU also has six buildings that are not certified under LEED-EB, but are operated under the same policies and procedures:

rendering of the western view apartments

Western View Apartments located on Main Campus.

  • Western View Apartments phase II: 83,713 sq. ft.
  • College of Engineering and Applied Sciences: 302,585 sq. ft.
  • Lee Honors College addition: 9,716 sq. ft.
  • South Kohrman Hall: 91,358 sq. ft.
  • Legacy Collection Center: 16,373 sq. ft.
  • Western View Apartments phase I: 145,041 sq. ft.