The new Collaborative Life Sciences Building, located at Portland’s South Waterfront, has been certified LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The building is the product of a partnership between Portland State, Oregon Health & Sciences University and Oregon State University. While Oregon state law now requires any building constructed using state dollars to have a minimum LEED certification, platinum is the highest ranking that can be received.
The U.S. Green Building Council not only considered design and construction when reviewing the Collaborative Life Sciences Building for certification, but also its first few months of operation, so that energy usage is factored in as well.
Scott Gallagher, director of communications at PSU, assured that the university was dedicated to sustainability from the beginning of planning the building.
“Sustainability was always top of mind when it came to architecture, drawings, space. So while the goal of the building is to provide academic space, it’s almost unsaid…of course it has to be LEED certified. It’s just part of our nature now at PSU,” he said.
The 650,000-square-foot building began housing classes this fall term and an estimated 3,000 students utilize it daily.
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Watch the video interview with the chair of the biology department, Dr. Jason Podrabsky, for more information on the new building:
Can you tell us about the art piece at the corner of the property?