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Duke Dormitory became the first building on campus to be LEED Certified on Thursday. LEED is a prestigious award given by the United States Green Building Council and stands for "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design."
The certification is difficult to obtain and requires that the structure meet a number of criteria in environmental sustainability.
Duke is also the first LEED Certified building for the town of Davidson and becomes one of only 43 in the greater Charlotte area.
President Ross spoke at the award ceremony citing the certification as an important achievement for Davidson College, especially during the Year of Sustainability. "This is an exciting day for us, indeed," Ross said. "Our goal is to become carbon neutral on campus, and this is a big step in that direction."
David Holthauser, Director of Facilities Management for Davidson College, took on the challenge of making Duke Dormitory more energy efficient and sustainable during the renovation of Duke in 2006-2007. Duke meets 26 of the 69 criteria points required for a U.S. Green Building making it the first level "certified" out of four levels. The levels are Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
The criteria points take into account the building site, water efficiency, energy use, building materials, indoor environmental quality and innovation.
Duke uses 23 percent less water than average due to low-flush toilets. Seventy-five percent of the roofing reflects heat which reduces air-conditioning costs. Thrity-one percent of the building was built using recycled materials. Eighty percent of the waste generated in the construction/renovation was recycled or reused. In addition, the building contains a central air system, low-VOC paints and air quality monitors.
Holthauser is proud of this accomplishment and is optimistic about future construction projects on campus. He stated that Duke Dormitory has opened the door for further projects. Furthermore, President Ross stressed that the College will require that all future renovation or building projects to be LEED certified and hopes that they will meet "Silver" qualifications.
Davidson is currently applying for two additional LEED certifications for campus buildings. The Admissions building and Cunningham Fine Arts building are expected to meet LEED Certified qualifications.
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