Biomedical Sciences Building receives LEED Gold Certification

July 7, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s Biomedical Sciences Building has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The building is one of 18 LEED-certified UF facilities, and one of five to receive gold certification. It is the university’s first gold LEED-certified research facility.

“We are working hard to make our buildings environmentally responsible,” said Dr. David S. Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs and president of the UF&Shands Health System. “We want our labs, our hospitals and our classrooms to have a minimal effect on the land, the air, the water. We want to save money by operating facilities more efficiently. And the good thing about all this? When you consider these factors you actually build better buildings for our investigators, students, patients and staff.”

The facility’s environmentally friendly nature appeals to occupants and even helps to recruit other scientists to work in the building.

“Most scientists have a little bit of green in them,” said Dr. Todd Golde, a professor of neuroscience in the College of Medicine and member of the UF Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, who works on the fourth floor of the building. “It’s certainly an added attraction to say that you’re working in a building that has some green element to it.

“We should try to minimize our impact at every step of the way,” Golde said.

The BMS building boasts 34,000 gallons of environmentally friendly wall paint, 920 gallons of low-emission flooring adhesive and 50,000 square feet of “green” carpet tile. Seventy-nine percent of the wood used is Forest Stewardship Council certified. Demolition of facilities previously at this location and construction of the new building diverted 3,265 tons of materials from landfills. Plumbing fixtures in the building are low-flow, and irrigation outside the facility uses 100 percent reclaimed water.

The building was designed by Hunton Brady Architects Inc. and built by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.

Levels of LEED certification are assigned to buildings that meet criteria in five areas related to environmental impact, including energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. The highest certifications are platinum, gold and silver.

“UF is thrilled to have its first gold research laboratory facility, the first of its kind in the state of Florida,” said Carol Walker, assistant vice president for business affairs. “This achievement recognizes the commitment of the university to assuring that all building types are sustainable, energy-efficient and provide a healthy environment for its occupants.”

The 163,000-square-foot BMS building opened in November and was dedicated in May. It is home to five interdisciplinary programs that bring together researchers from the colleges of medicine, public health and health professions, and engineering: In addition to the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, it houses the Diabetes Center of Excellence, the J. Crayton Pruitt department of biomedical engineering, the Rehabilitation Research Program in the department of physical therapy and the UF Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science for Life Undergraduate Laboratory.