UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND’S HOPE COMMONS AWARDED LEED® SILVER CERTIFICATION
The University of Rhode Island’s (URI) newest dining facility, Hope Commons, has been awarded LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is the USGBC’s rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient, and highest performing buildings.
Designed by Vision 3 Architects, the facility opened in August 2007. Hope Commons is a 42,500-square-foot dining facility featuring a 600-seat dining hall, a 110-seat late night café, and a convenience market. Hope Commons is the first new, free-standing dining facility on the campus in 45 years and replaces two dining facilities; the original Hope Dining Hall, which was built in 1957, and Roger Williams Dining Hall.
LEED certification of Hope Commons was based on the USGBC’s verification of a number of sustainable design and construction features that positively impact both the project and the broader community, including:
- Installation of a reflective roof coating to prevent heat absorption and reduce cost to cool the building
- Specification of energy-efficient lighting, and incorporation of design strategies to take advantage of daylight and reduce interior illumination requirements. The quality of the work environment for kitchen staff is significantly improved with natural light and outside views.
- Selection of exterior lighting to illuminate only pathways and other specified areas, thereby reducing “light pollution”
- Elimination of landscape irrigation systems by selection of native, drought-resistant plantings
- Successful diversion from landfills of 94 percent of demolition materials from the razed Hope Dining Hall
- Use of 26.5 percent recycled content in construction materials
- Use of locally sourced materials: 75 percent of construction materials used in the project come from local and regional sources within 500 miles of the project, thereby significantly reducing energy and cost for transportation
- Installation of water-saving plumbing fixtures and kitchen equipment throughout, saving over 55,000 gallons of water per year.
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