Onondaga Community College’s newest buildings are receiving high marks for their environmental features. The Academic II building and the SRC Arena and Events Center received the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council Tuesday morning. Being certified by the U.S. Green Building Council means that the building design and construction met specific green building criteria.
One of the main features of the Academic II building’s Music Hall is the top to bottom side window panels instead of a wall. Green Building Council President Rick Fedrizzi says that allows natural daylight to come in and illuminate the entire room.
"When you match them together, when they are integrated, and you realize this much daylight means the electricity used for the lights above is almost non-existent, you won't even have to run the lights to have a class in the room. That integration is what is creating all the green opportunity, but is really about using less resources and having a much more vibrant experience."
The Academic II Building received the Gold status for several reasons:
- It consumes 25% less energy than a typical building of its size.
- The bathrooms were designed to save 50,000 gallons of water annually.
- About 38% of the building’s materials are recycled.
- 10% of the materials used for building came from less than 500 miles away from the campus.
- The building has better indoor air quality due to the usage of low volatile organic compound materials.
The SRC Arena and Events Center is the hotspot for all of the sports and entertainment on campus. It holds 6,500 people has 60,000 square feet of floor space. The arena contains three courts (basketball, volleyball, and tennis), a six-lane track, and athletic facilities. Many trade shows and local graduations are held in this arena.
The SRC Arena and Events Center is being recognized for many reasons, as well:
- The building uses 39% less water than the average building.
- The landscaping does not require irrigation because of exterior design.
- The building uses 26% less energy than the average building.
- 33% of the building materials are made up of recycled content.
- 23% of the materials used for building came from less than 500 miles away from the campus.
- 93% of all waste was reused or recycled in the construction of the building.
"Whether it's a school or a hospital, our homes, our office buildings, where we shop, how we eat in restaurants, wherever it may be, our buildings have the ability to treat us with more respect and ultimately give us a much better experience and a healthier life," says President Rick Fedrizzi.