Student Residence Project Gets LEED Gold

BERKELEY, CA—The University of California, Berkeley, Maximino Martinez Commons has achieved LEED Gold 2009 NC certification. The 147,000-square-foot facility located on a former university parking lot was completed in 2012 at a construction cost of $53 million.

According to Thornton Tomasetti, the international engineering firm that provided sustainability consulting services, the building contains a sophomore residence hall and apartments for upper-division students, which provide housing for 416 students in 98 double-occupancy units, five five-bedroom suites and 47 four-bedroom suites.

Thornton Tomasetti was retained by the university to manage the LEED certification process, which included providing sustainability strategy recommendations to the design team, tracking compliance with LEED during design and construction and reviewing and submitting documentation to the Green Building Certification Institute. The project team comprised architects EHDD and Behnisch Architects; mechanical engineer Acco Engineered Systems; plumbing engineer IBE Consulting; and contractor Vance Brown Inc.

Key Sustainability Points Include:

• The building produces renewable energy on-site with a roof-mounted solar hot water heating array, which offsets 8% of its energy use.
• Drought-tolerant, native and climate-adaptive plants as well as high-performance plumbing fixtures reduce potable water consumption by more than 30%.
• Highly efficient and right-sized heating equipment, natural ventilation and the use of natural daylight to offset electric light cuts energy use by over 43%.
• Shallow floor plates admit abundant natural light and provide quality views while increasing productivity and well-being.

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