Georgia Tech has Sustainable Buildings
Georgia Tech has one of the most advanced and forward-thinking documents in the college and university arena for environmental stewardship, sustainable design and energy management. The “Yellow Book” provides guidance to design and construction professionals who provide these services for Georgia Tech.
Current policy states Tech's new construction and renovations will also be designed and constructed to LEED GOLD or higher, as of 2009. LEED Silver was our design standard starting in 2002. In 2007, Georgia Tech made an explicit policy that all new buildings and renovations will meet or exceed LEED Silver Design Standards.
In order to be a LEED building, renovation or retrofit, several requirements for sustainable design, construction, and operation must be met or exceeded.. Beyond that, the project must meet several point-earning credits selected from six categories—sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process.
Georgia Tech also has a Landscape Master Plan, with an Irrigation Master plan (cisterns and condensate strategy with corresponding Land Use and landscape planning).
Sustainable Buildings on Campus (as of June 2013):
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Georgia Tech has approximately 7,100,000 square feet of sustainable buildings, which includes 61+ buildings.
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Georgia Tech has 16 LEED certified buildings spanning Classrooms, Administration, Athletics, Housing buildings. Two buildings on Tech's campus that Tech does not own are also LEED certified. Two Georgia Tech buildings are LEED Platinum certified. Thirteen buildings on Tech's campus are LEED Gold certified. One building is LEED Silver certified. We are currently working to have the Campus Certified, which will provide LEED points for all future projects for greeen cleaning, etc, without having to redocument basic LEED points.
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Tech has 27 additional buildings designed to or with renovations designed to LEED Silver standards, or higher. This includes 21 buildings that Facilities has reviewed with LEED standards in mind. Currently, Georgia Tech has 7 building projects that are LEED registered, works-in-progress that are targeting for LEED Gold or higher certification.
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Sixty four(64) buildings completed between 1994-2004 have been retrofitted to make them more sustainable (energy and water efficiency retrofits estimated to reduce energy consumption by 11 percent. Additional energy upgrades to 46 buildings in 2011-12 further reduced energy consumption.
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More than 19 buildings have cisterns to collect and store water - condensate and/or rain water for reuse on campus. A cistern in the middle ofcampus is sized to 1.4 million gallons and provides Georgia Tech's cistern capacity is approximately 2,225,000 gallons. Cistern water is used for flusing in the Clough Commons building as well as 3 residence halls. Smart irrigation and xeriscaping spand campus but over a third of the limited irrigation on campus is done with cistern water.
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More than 19 buildings have cisterns to collect and store water - condensate and/or rain water for reuse on campus. A cistern in the middle ofcampus is sized to 1.4 million gallons and provides Georgia Tech's cistern capacity is approximately 2,225,000 gallons. Cistern water is used for flusing in the Clough Commons building as well as 3 residence halls. Smart irrigation and xeriscaping spand campus but over a third of the limited irrigation on campus is done with cistern water.
Examples of Sustainable Features in Specific Buildings on campus include:
| College of Management | Klaus Advanced Computing |
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| LEED Silver certified | LEED Gold certifed |
| 16.5 % more energy-efficient than the national standard | 40% less energy than current energy codes, with artificial and natural light |
| 13th LEED certified project in US and 2nd in GA
since the rating system was launched in 1998 by the USGB |
Preserves 50 % of site as green space: storm water collection and filtering system for irrigation |
| Low VOC interiors | Recycled materials used in its construction |
| more..... | more.... |
| Women's Softball Field | Old Civil Engineering Renovation |
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| LEED GOLD Certified | LEED GOLD Certified |
| Increase Pervious Surfaces | Improved HVAC, more water efficient |
| Native Plants | Reuse of Existing Building |
| more... | more... |
| Zelnak Basketball Practice Building | Hinman Building - Renovation |
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| LEED GOLD Certified | LEED GOLD Certified |
| State of the art basket ball practice facility is seeking LEED Gold | Renovation of first research building on Georgia Tech campus |
| more... | more.... |
| North Avenue Apartment Renovation - NAA | Caron Neutral Energy Solutions - CNES |
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| LEED Gold certified | LEED Platinum certified |
| First LEED Existing Building Certified project on campus. Former Olympic Village, home to 2000 students | First LEED Platinum building on campus. Researchers seeking net carbon neutral energy solutions |
| more... | more... |
| North Avenue Dining Hall | Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons |
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| LEED Gold | LEED Platinum |
| Sustainable Dinng Hall | Transparency |
| Designed and built for energy efficiency, efficient water use, food composting, etc | Create and sustain an undergraduate community focused on integrating technology with innovative teaching and experiential learning. |
| more... | more... |
LEED Registered |
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| Coliseum - Renovation | Academay of Medicine - Renovation |
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| Leadership Challenge Course | |
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Examples of Some Sustainable Buildings & Projects on Campus |
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| Molecular Science and Engineering - MSE | Eco-Commons - in Design |
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| Green Lab award recognition | new wooded and open areas for education |
| Fume hoods with occupant sensors and motorized sash closing when not in use | planting of trees and other vegetation, as well as hardscapes |
| 50% building materials recycled | reduced erosion to improved air quality. |
| more... | more... |
| Ford Environmental Science &Technology - ES&T | Whitehead Student Health Services |
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| Energy efficient variable speed motors | Daylighting |
| Green building for researching environmental and biological sciences | Cool roof and energy efficient |
| Stormwater Management Features | Low Flow Fixtures |
| more... | more.... |
| Whitaker Biomedical Engineering - BME | Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences - IBB |
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| Interdisciplinary biomedical research | Variable Volume Drives |
| Micro Quantities and Techniques | EnergyStar cool roof |
| Day lighting reduces lighting 25% | Enhanced Commissioning |
| more... | more... |
| Landon Learning Center | Global Learning Conference Center |
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| Family Friendly | highly reflective white roof |
| Low Flow Fixtures 20-50% more efficient | 17% more energy efficient |
| Saved Trees and Canopy | Economizer Heat Exchanger |
| more... | more.... |
| NARA Food Processing | Sustainable Education Building |
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| Energy Efficient | 1996 opening is pre-LEED standard, but leads by example, incorporated Sustainable Materials and principles |
| Indoor Air Quality | Local material use reduces CO2 + GHG |
| more | more..... |
| Savannah 3 Buildings | Love Manufacturing |
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| Xeriscaping | Variable Speed Motors and Pumps |
| Energy Efficiency | Digital Controls |
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| Manufacturing Research Center | Manufacturing Related Disciplines Complex |
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| Jane Swann Building | Carnegie Building |
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| Maintained historic features | HVAC renovation |
| Low flow water fixtures | Low flow water fixtures |
| New energy efficient HVAC | more... |
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Coon Building |
Folk Residence Hall |
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| 30% more energy efficient than before 1995 | Enthalpy Wheel |
| Windows replaced | Converted to central chiller |
| Total renovation | Low Flow Fixtures |
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| Tenth & Home Family Apartments | Undergraduate Living Center |
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| Cisterns for water conservation | Low Flow Fixtures |
| Tenth Street Chiller | Enthalpy Wheel |
| more | more... |
Renewable Energy Used in Operations Since 1996 |
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| 811 Marietta St | Campus Recreation Center |
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| Geothermal heating & cooling | 9th largest solar implementation of its type on a US college campus today |
| Exhaust w/ heat recovery | HVAC innovation when covered Olympic Pool during renovation |
| Geothermal water heating | more.... |
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