Buildings

Introduction

Buildings are generally the largest user of energy and the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions on campuses. Buildings also use significant amounts of potable water. Institutions can design, build, and maintain buildings in ways that provide a safe and healthy indoor environment for inhabitants while simultaneously mitigating the building’s impact on the outdoor environment.

Featured Resources

932 resources

Passive House Applications for Campus Buildings

  • FXCollaborative (NY)
  • Local Practice Architecture + Design

This session will focus on the feasibility implementing the Passive House Standard in University Campus applications. FXFOWLE will share the results of a research study investigating the viability of implementing ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Bringing Private Sector Knowledge into the Public Domain: Achieving Sustainability Success

  • CRB (MO)

This presentation will explore examples of how industry and public private partnership models drive sustainability in innovative ways for project delivery. Case Studies are noted below: Bioscience 2 (Public Private ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Ecovillage + Innovation Village = The Future, now!

  • Oklahoma State University (OK)
  • Earth Deeds (MA)

Daniel Greenberg - exposed students for year to study abroad courses to ecovillages - has suggested that the ecovillage concept and university need each other. Nancy Gift - a professor at Berea College ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Energy Engineering for Non-Engineers

  • GreenerU (MA)
  • Babson College (MA)

As a sustainability change agent, you may not have a background in engineering, but developing a basic fluency in energy engineering terms and concepts can empower you to participate in ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Institutional Boundaries: Creating Clarity in a Time of Complex Third-Party Partnerships

  • Arizona State University (AZ)

When was the last time you thought about your 'institutional boundaries' - the first credit in AASHE STARS? As higher education institutions continue to expand and evolve through innovative third-party partnerships ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Collaborative Studio Re-Imagining Wood Design and Construction

  • University of Arkansas (AR)

In the face of new and shifting demands for sustainable practices imposed upon the building industry and the world of design, wood is gaining popularity as a biodegradable and renewable ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Outcomes of Collaborative Learning of Sustainable Building Design and Construction Practices

  • University of Arkansas (AR)

In this second paper, the authors present the formative evaluation results from research conducted during Fall 2016 at Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Sustainable Living: Off-Grid Tiny Hydro Powered House

  • University of Hawaii Kauai Community College (HI)

One of the major challenges in modern society is providing affordable housing for the everyday person. The next level to this challenge is providing housing that is both affordable and ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Engaging Students in Sustainable Living Without Social Media/Internet. Discussion for Sustainability Staff in Student Housing.

  • Stanford University (CA)

Stanford University's Residential & Dining Enterprises in partnership with students and academic departments have performed cutting edge research on student behavior and facility efficiency. Within just a few years ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Building infographics at the University of Washington

  • University of Washington, Seattle (WA)

These posters showcase the environmental impact of buildings on campus, they're informative and show how much impact buildings have on the campus community.

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Leveraging Living Building Challenge Standards across Campus Operations

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
  • Hampshire College (MA)

How do you show faculty, staff and students that a building is alive and empower them to keep it healthy? As the most stringent green building certification in the world ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Saving Energy and Creating a Constant, Consistent, Repeatable Lab Environment at The University of Maryland IBBR

  • University of Maryland, College Park (MD)
  • Optimum Energy (WA)

The University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research will outline the steps they took to reduce their energy consumption, further improve their environmental stabilization plant's reliability and ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Advancing the Green Building Movement through Community Action & Learning

  • U.S. Green Building Council (DC)

Every story about a green building is a story about people.' While many academic courses train students on the technical and philosophical aspects of sustainability, professional skills working with people ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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North Carolina State University: Performance, LEED, and the Arc Platform

  • U.S. Green Building Council (DC)

This panel will present a case study on the experience of the North Carolina State University leveraging the Arc Platform and the performance approach as part of their LEED lab ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Growing the BULB; Urban Ecology and Butler University's Living Building

  • Butler University (IN)
  • Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects (MO)

The BULB sits at the highest and most iconic location on campus adjacent to Holcomb Observatory and within 100' of the Carillon Tower which connects to an 'organ' at the ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Tracking Campus Energy & Water Performance with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

  • University of North Carolina, Charlotte (NC)

Keeping a university campus sustainable can start with tracking energy and water performance for a building. In this session, we will describe our experience with tracking building performance with an ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Sustainability across the Life Cycle of Higher Education Facilities: Nationwide Trends & Practical Tools for Improvement

  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Gordian (SC)

We will highlight key findings from the second annual 'State of Sustainability' report from Sightlines and University of New Hampshire. This report examines publically available data across each stage of ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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That Status of LEED on College and University Campuses

  • Middlebury College (VT)
  • Leonardo Academy (WI)

This session provides an overview and analysis of the current state of the LEED rating system on college and university campuses based on the findings of Leonardo Academy's 2017 ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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How a New Learning Lab Becomes a Continuous Career Fair and Sustainability Jobs Hub

  • Sacramento City College (CA)
  • Trane (TX)

The Sacramento City College Mechanical Electrical Technology (MET) Program has been in place for decades. In recent years, enrollment has leveled off but local industry still has a relative high ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Transforming Sustainability at Texas A&M University

  • Texas A&M University (TX)
  • Ayers Saint Gross (MD)

Prior to the master plan update, Texas A&M had a series of district plans to direct campus development. These plans supported various campus districts, but where the plan boundaries met ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Evaluating the Sustainability Outcomes Beyond LEED of Trinity University's Center for the Sciences and Innovation.

  • Trinity University (TX)
  • EYP (NY)

When evaluating the success of a sustainable building, metrics are often limited to LEED certification obtained and energy use. This case study of Trinity University's Center for the Sciences ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Expanding the Horizons of Campus Recycling: Addressing Expanded Polystyrene Waste at Three Institutions of Higher Education

  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (IL)
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (MO)

College and university campuses strive to minimize waste and promote thoughtful disposal practices among campus residents. However, one material that presents unique challenges to sustainably manage is expanded polystyrene (EPS ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Reuse or Build New? A Tale of Two Carbon Footprints

  • Hampshire College (MA)
  • Bruner/Cott Architects (MA)

What role does embodied and operational carbon play in making campus development decisions? What role do offsets have in balancing the equation? In light of the ever-growing stock of buildings ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Social Learning Platform and Collaborative Design Process for a Net Positive Outdoor Sustainability Learning Center

  • Western Michigan University (MI)

The Outdoor Education Space project is a process-centric approach to designing a net-positive education and retreat space that intends to procure community engagement by collectivizing the ideas presented and deliberated ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Fulfilling an Academic Mission by Building as a Teaching Tool: Virginia Wesleyan University's Greer Environmental Sciences Center

  • Virginia Wesleyan University (VA)
  • VMDO Architects, PC (VA)

The Greer Environmental Sciences Center honors former President Greer's long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability and advocacy for a thriving science program at VWU. Completing the College's main quadrangle ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Secrets to Campus Energy Success: Constructing a Comprehensive Renewable Energy Strategy

  • University of Richmond (VA)
  • Edison Energy (CA)

Energy is one of the largest non-payroll operating costs for most colleges and universities. Campus budgets are exposed to volatile energy price fluctuations, rising over time. Electricity and natural gas ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Submetering: Identify, Integrate, Fix-and Cruise

  • Princeton University (NJ)
  • Smith College (MA)
  • GreenerU (MA)

Submetering is amazing! Submetering is frustrating!' It's a roller coaster to deal with submetering technology sometimes. You finally have granular data to help you identify energy hogs on campus ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Innovation Districts: Collaborations of a City, a College and Corporations

  • Oklahoma State University (OK)
  • The University of New Mexico (NM)
  • University of Texas at Austin (TX)
  • Wichita State University (KS)

Join Jane Talkington for an overview of Innovation Districts, a new form of economic development that challenges very different players in innovation ecosystems to build solidarity to achieve their goals ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Sustainability in Residential Life

  • Concordia College (NY)
  • New York University (NY)
  • Northern Arizona University (AZ)
  • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (IN)

Looking to build campus connections? Consider working with your institution's Residence Life Department! This session will highlight four different case studies of engagement with Residence Life, a department that ...

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Spatial Estimation and Visualization of CO2 Emissions for Campus Sustainability: The Case of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia

  • King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Makkah)

A total of 21 metric tons of CO2 per person in terms of per capita emissions from consumption of energy was recorded in Saudi Arabia in 2011 and forecasts have ...

  • Posted Nov. 30, 2017
  • Publications
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Ten Tools for Moving Your Campus to 100% Clean Energy

Environment America designed a series of 10 fact sheets as a resource for students, faculty and administrators interested in moving their campus toward sustainability. The fact sheets have been crafted ...


A Research on Physical Characteristics and Campus Sustainability Performance of American Univerisity Campus

  • University of Pennsylvania (PA)
  • Tsinghua University

Sixty four STARS rated campuses across the United States make up the total sample list of the research. The paper starts from the correlation analysis between physical characteristics and sustainable ...


Market Data: Building Energy Management Systems

This report from Navigant Research analyzes the global market for building energy management systems (BEMSs), examining technology trends, and providing forecasts, segmented by region, offering type, and customer type, through ...

  • Posted Oct. 25, 2017
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New Drivers for Campus Microgrids: Resiliency, Community, Research, Jobs & Cost Savings

Colleges and universities were among the first to adopt microgrid technology in North America. Initially they did so to ensure electric reliability on a grid that had yet to fully ...

  • Posted Oct. 25, 2017
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Bates College Students Install Solar Panels on Research Faciltiy

  • Bates College (ME)

Working with local solar installer Revision Energy, Bates College students work on the roof of our Shortridge Research Facility to install enough solar panels to cover 100% of the building ...


Bates College's New Wood-based, Liquid Fuel Boiler

  • Bates College (ME)

In January of 2017, Bates College began using a fuel which no other college or university in the United States has used before. Known as Renewable Fuel Oil, it is ...


Space Utilization at NSCC

  • Nova Scotia Community College (NS)

The scheduling staff optimizing space utilization through the College's scheduling software.

Students in a flexible learning space designed to accommodate multiple trades programs, thus optimizing the usability of the ...


Stanford raises environmental standard for Middle Plaza project following concerns

  • Stanford University (CA)

Following concerns raised by a local nonprofit, Stanford agreed to raise environmental standards for its Middle Plaza Project in Menlo Park. The new 8.4-acre mixed-use project will include 215 ...

  • Posted Oct. 11, 2017
  • Publications
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Cornell University Ithaca Campus: Energy Direct Billing

  • Cornell University (NY)

A new Energy Direct Billing budget model went into effect at Cornell University in 2014, making each college/unit on campus responsible for its own utility bill. This model provides ...


Loyola's Lake Shore Campus Chapel on the shores of Lake Michigan

  • Loyola University Chicago (IL)

Loyola's Lake Shore Campus Chapel on the shores of Lake Michigan.


Loyola's Lake Shore Campus on the shores of Lake Michigan

  • Loyola University Chicago (IL)

LEED Silver Klarchek Information Commons. Loyola's Lake Shore Campus on the shores of Lake Michigan.


Energy Master Plan - St. John's University, New York

  • St. John's University, New York (NY)

St. John's University is preparing to commit to deeper carbon emissions reductions. As a participant in the New York City Carbon Challenge since 2007, SJU will achieve its commitment ...

  • Posted June 22, 2017
  • Videos & Webinars
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Spatial mapping of occupant satisfaction and indoor environment quality in a LEED platinum campus building

This paper reports a post-occupancy evaluation study of a LEED Platinum building on a university campus. A multiple-tool POE approach with GIS-based spatial mapping method was used to analyze and ...

  • Posted June 20, 2017
  • Publications
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Occupant satisfaction in LEED-certified higher education buildings

The purpose of this paper is to quantify occupant satisfaction levels within Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified higher education buildings and determine the extent to which this ...

  • Posted June 20, 2017
  • Publications
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Greening University Campus Buildings to Reduce Consumption and Emission while Fostering Hands-on Inquiry-based Education

This paper describes a method of greening university campus buildings that normally contribute to a large amount of energy and water consumption, air pollution, and resource depletions. The University of ...

  • Posted June 19, 2017
  • Publications
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Urban Design for Sustainability Syllabus

  • Lesley University (MA)

What would a truly sustainable society look like? We will address that question, starting with a look at the rise and decline of societies and how the ideas of sustainability ...

  • Posted June 9, 2017
  • Course Materials
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A persuasive feedback support system for energy conservation and carbon emission reduction in campus residential buildings

There is a need for energy conservation mechanisms, especially in university campuses, as students do not have any direct feedback on their energy consumptions, which leads to excess usages. There ...


Kauai Community College Tiny House Hydro Electric Micro Grid Project

  • University of Hawaii Kauai Community College (HI)

During the Summer of 2016 a free Tiny House building course was offered free to the community of Kauai. The course ran for five days and focused on building the ...


Building as a Living Laboratory: The Integrated Technology Center

  • Western Technical College (WI)

When you enter an academic building on a college campus, you expect that learning takes place there. Desks and labs, offices and hallways, students and faculty—all are standard. But ...


Novel Solution to University's Pool and Shower Heating

  • University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)

The plan is to install a localized, state of the art heating system for Campus Recreation’s pool and shower systems. The project would involve disconnecting the central boiler heating ...

This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.

OP 3: Building Design & Construction

OP 4: Building Design & Construction

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Buildings Partners