Stanford has completed three major new green buildings in recent years, and has begun work on others. Please click the names below to learn more about these projects.
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Environment + Energy Building (2008)
Environment + Energy Building (2008)
The Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment + Energy Building is a green design showcase. It provides a home for cross-disciplinary research and teaching focused on sustainability, and the building itself serves as a learning tool.
The 166,500-square-foot building uses 38 percent less energy than a traditional building of comparable size and 90 percent less total water than one with traditional fixtures and systems. Significant portions need no air conditioning, and much of the building relies on natural light during the day. Features include:
- A high-performance envelope (roof, walls, windows, sunshades and light shelves) that reduces heating and cooling loads.
- Natural ventilation via internal atria, windows and vents.
- Three solar photovoltaic installations that offset energy use.
- Water conservation systems, including waterless urinals and dual-flush toilets; recycled water from Stanford’s Central Energy Facility is used in toilets and for lab processes.
- Extensive use of recycled materials and sustainable products, such as bamboo. Exposed concrete floors significantly reduce carpet use and saved tons of raw materials.
The Environment + Energy Building is the first of four buildings that will make up the Science and Engineering Quad 2. The remaining three buildings will be built to similar standards.
San Francisco Business Times named Environment + Energy the Best Green Building in the Bay Area in March 2008.
For more information, see the news release.
Download the Environment + Energy fact sheet.
Click here for more information regarding the Y2E2 docent training program.
Carnegie Global Ecology Research Center (2007)
Carnegie Global Ecology Research Center (2007)
The Carnegie Institution’s Global Ecology Research Center is an extremely low-energy laboratory and office building that emits 72 percent less carbon and uses 33 percent less water than a comparable standard building.
The center features an evaporative downdraft cooling tower, an exterior made from salvaged wine-cask redwood, no-irrigation landscaping, dual-flush toilets and low-flow faucets. The design also furthers academic work: a "night sky" radiant cooling system demonstrates the principles of radiant heat loss to deep space–principles that the center’s researchers are investigating.
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment named the Global Ecology Research Center one of its Top Ten Green Projects in 2007.
Jasper Ridge Field Station (2005)
Jasper Ridge Field Station (2005)
The Leslie Shao-ming Sun Field Station at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve provides a natural laboratory for researchers and educational experiences for students. Sustainable elements include:
- A 22-kilowatt, grid-connected photovoltaic system.
- A sophisticated energy monitoring system.
- Waterless urinals, dual-flush toilets and tankless water heaters.
- Salvaged materials used for siding, brick paving, casework, furniture and bathroom partitions.
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment named Jasper Ridge Field Station one of its Top Ten Green Projects in 2005.
Learn more at the Jasper Ridge website.
The Green Dorm (2011)
The Green Dorm (2011)
This project, a collaboration between School of Engineering students, faculty and Student Housing’s construction and design team, will be a living laboratory: Its energy, water and structural systems will be continuously monitored, evaluated and modified.
The dorm will incorporate the most advanced materials, architectural design practices and energy and water technologies available–it’s expected to generate more electricity than it uses and emit no net carbon, as well as use half the water of comparable dorms.
Plans call for using solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells as the primary source of energy; reusing rainwater and gray water for irrigation, laundry and toilets; and other sustainable practices. The project is expected to be completed in 2011.
Get updates at the Lotus Living Laboratory website.
Knight Management Center (2011)
Knight Management Center (2011)
Knight Management Center, the new home of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, is striving to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification–the highest level offered by the U.S. Green Building Council’s rating program.
Slated to open in winter 2011, the center will comprise 360,000 square feet in multiple buildings. It’s expected that the center will reduce total energy costs by 42 percent compared to similar traditional buildings and achieve all 10 possible points in the LEED Green Building Rating System. As much as 12 percent of the center’s energy may be supplied by on-site photovoltaic panels.
The project will exceed the highest LEED standards for water conservation. Solar hot water collectors will provide domestic water, and plans include harvesting rainwater on-site and recycling water from the Central Energy Facility, both to be used for toilets and irrigation.
Sustainable features will also include natural ventilation, daylighting, and high-performance active building systems. Other energy-saving technologies may include under-floor air distribution, displacement ventilation and radiant cooling and heating. Some areas will need no air conditioning.
For details, go to the Knight Management Center website.
