Clarkson University building receives LEED gold certification

POTSDAM — Clarkson University may already have school colors of green and gold, but this week found the college featuring its hues in a new way.

The college announced Thursday that its green Technology Advancement Center building has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification for its environmentally friendly innovations, including state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems and solar and rainwater collection systems.

“When we broke ground for the Technology Advancement Center in 2007, our goal was to achieve LEED gold certification,” Clarkson University President Anthony G. Collins said in a prepared statement. “We have achieved that goal because of our total commitment to being a green campus — in our facilities, in the way that we operate, and in the research performed by our students, faculty and staff ... Clarkson University is a learning and living environment where our students not only hear the talk, but they walk the walk.”

The college announced the building’s gold certification at a sustainability celebration event attended by state Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome and Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Heuvelton. The 16,000-square-foot Technology Advancement Center connects the college’s main library and computing space with its largest academic building and provides laboratory and collaboration space for research in the fields of renewable energy and clean manufacturing technology.

The building, which was completed in fall 2008, was constructed with a $5 million grant from the Empire State Development Corp. and hosts the northern satellite of the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems research program. It features solar panels, three micro-turbine units, a rainwater collection system, an energy-efficient elevator, south-facing window systems, motion and daylight sensors to curtail energy use, high-efficiency air filtration systems and many local and recycled materials.