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October 28, 2011

Lewis Katz Building awarded LEED Green Building Certification

The Lewis Katz Building has been awarded LEED certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. LEED measures the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.

“Building operations are nearly 40% of the solution to the global climate change challenge,” said Rick Fedrizi, president, CEO & founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “As the newest member of the LEED family of green buildings, Lewis Katz Building is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement.”

The 114,000-square-foot Lewis Katz Building achieved LEED certification for energy use, water and material use and other sustainable strategies. Designed by Ennead Architects of New York (formerly Polshek Partnership), the Lewis Katz Building includes many green features, including:

• A green roof that reduces storm water runoff and reduces the building's “heat island” effect;
• Steel fabricated in the eastern United States and other local building materials;
• A library awash in natural light thanks to a ceramic fritted glass curtain wall that absorbs heat in the winter and casts off heat in the summer;
• On-site showers that encourage biking or jogging to the facility.
“Minimizing energy consumption associated with new facilities is key to the University's role as a global citizen,” said Ford Stryker, Associate Vice President of Physical Plant. Stryker explained that since 2002 all new construction and major renovations at the University are designed to be LEED certified. “The green roof, for example, insulates the building, lowers our heating and cooling costs and lengthens the life of the roof, which will save money and reduce the University's carbon footprint for many years.”
Dedicated on April 24, 2009, the building is named in honor of Lewis Katz, a 1966 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law whose generosity enabled construction to begin.

LEED certification is the latest in a series of awards for the Lewis Katz Building. The building, which also houses Penn State Law, has received honors from the Society of American Registered Architects New York Council, the Society of American Registered Architects Pennsylvania Council, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Pittsburgh, and the highest, Platinum rating from the College Designer Collabetition Awards for design excellence. The Lewis Katz Building was named “Project of the Year” by Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine and was a finalist in the 2009 Building Magazine's Project Innovations Awards.