Green Buildings
Green buildings significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and on the building occupants, and reduce energy costs over the long run. Examples at UC Davis include:
Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences
A joint project of UC Davis, Sierra Nevada College, the University of Nevada-Reno and the Desert Research Institute, the building was designed and built with a goal of achieving a Platinum Rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program (http://www.usgbc.org/). The building, which houses the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, is expected to use half the energy of a conventionally designed laboratory and office building. Some of its many "green" innovations include walls packed with insulation made from recycled blue jeans: toilets that use rain and snowmelt; air conditioning that uses water cooled by night air then circulated through radiant pipes, eliminating the need for energy-consuming compressors and refrigerants; and rooftop photovoltaic panels that turn solar energy into electricity.
Gladys Valley Hall
The instructional heart of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Gladys Valley Hall is the first building at UC Davis (and only the second in the University of California system) designed and built to achieve certification under the U.S.
Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. It is expected to use one third less energy than a standard design, plus conserve water, provide better indoor air quality and incorporate natural materials. Less energy is consumed for lighting by employing natural light, photo sensors and motion detectors. Natural ventilation, evaporative cooling and radiant floor slabs are used to reduce cooling energy.
Student Resource Center
The proposed Student Resource Center, designed to provide space for community-focused programs and student retention efforts, will be constructed to LEED Platinum Standards as specified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Baseline credits
Each baseline credit represents a commitment to incorporate a green building measure — energy efficiency, water-use efficiency, nontoxic building materials — into new buildings on campus. UC Davis has 33 baseline credits, the most of any campus in the UC system.
Best Practice Awards for Best Overall Sustainable Design
Two Best Practice Awards, one to Student Housing for a lighting retrofit project, the other to R4 Recycling for its innovative waste reduction, were awarded to UC Davis in 2006 during the fifth annual Sustainability Conference put on by UC and the state's other higher education systems: California State University and California Community Colleges.