LEED Certification

Southwestern University has two certified buildings under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System™.

Wilhelmina Cullen Admission Center (2008) - LEED Gold
The one-story, 9,602 square-foot building was built and furnished at a cost of $3.3 million. The ‘green’ building was designed with the goal of Gold LEED certification, the second-highest possible certification.

Features that make the building “green” include a bamboo floor in the lobby area, skylights in the center of the building, waterless urinals, solar-powered sink faucets, and reflective roof shingles. At least 20% of the materials used in the building were extracted and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site. All paints, finishes, adhesives, and sealants used on the interior of the building had low VOC content. The building also is surrounded by landscaping that uses native plants and has electric car charging stations in the parking lot.

Charles & Elizabeth Prothro Center For Lifelong Learning (2010) - LEED Silver
The three-story, 40,350 square-foot building was built and furnished at a cost of $11 million. The building’s water efficiency features – including dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, and solar-powered, timed faucets – are estimated to use 41% less water that would otherwise be used, resulting in savings of 33,000 gallons of drinkable water a year.

The building’s energy-saving features such as reflective roof shingles and insulation mean it will use nearly 27% less energy a year than a typical building of the same size. 47% of the materials in the building were made from recycled content, including the copper shingles, the door and window frames, the carpet, and the ceiling tile. 90% of the construction waste was recycled for use as other products, including 304 tons of concrete, 28 tons of steel and metal, 130 tons of wood, sheetrock and cardboard, and 10 tons of brush.