Green Building

High Performance, Green Building

The University is committed to building to the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.

  • LEED is a rigorous standard with a lengthy, peer-reviewed checklist.
  • Architectural and engineering teams work very hard throughout the design, construction and early occupancy of our building projects to document the achievement of LEED points.
  • Certification is often not awarded until well after buildings are open and occupied because of the amount of information that needs to be reviewed by the USGBC's experts.
  • LEED buildings can be certified Platinum, Gold, Silver and the basic Certified level. CWRU's policy is to strive for Gold.
  • LEED certified buildings use less energy, send less waste to the landfill during construction and occupancy, have healthy indoor air quality and use a high percentage of products or resources from within a few hundred miles.
  • Learn more about the  and  certification.
  • Students interested in the green building industry should consider getting certified as a .

LEED Certified Projects at CWRU:

The Village at 115th - LEED Gold & Silver
CWRU's first green building achievement was the design and construction of The Village at 115. This student residential housing complex holds LEED Gold and Silver certifications and doubles as a sustainable storm water solution. Beneath the Village buildings and the campus football field is a man-made sand plot, which allows storm water collected from the roof of The Village to be sustainably absorbed back into the Earth at a rate that is healthy for the land. Additionally, The Village has innovative lighting, window, heating, and cooling solutions, that allow the building to be incredibly efficient.

  • Tomlinson Hall - LEED Silver
  • Tinkham Veale University Center - LEED Gold
  • Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center - LEED Silver
  • Stephanie Tubbs Jones Residence Hall - LEED Gold 
  • Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences - LEED Interior Silver
  • Linsalata Alumni Center - LEED Gold
  • Health Education Campus - LEED Gold
  • Dental Clinic - LEED Silver 
  • Maltz Performing Arts Center (Phase 2) - Gold
  • Fribley Commons - Silver 
  • Noyes & Fayette - under review for certification
  • ISEB - under construction