Oakton’s Lee Center receives LEED Gold certification

(Jan. 20, 2016) The Margaret Burke Lee Science and Health Careers Center (Lee Center) was recognized at Oakton’s Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19 for earning LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  

Receiving LEED Gold certification demonstrates that the Lee Center, designed by Legat Architects and built by Turner Construction, ranks among the most efficient public buildings in the country. The Lee Center opened in 2015 and is Oakton’s first LEED Gold certified building. According to the USGBC, LEED Gold facilities save money and resources, and have a positive impact on the health of occupants while promoting renewable, clean energy.

Michael Lundeen, senior project manager for Legat, presented Board Chair Patricia Harada with a certificate and a plaque certifying the Lee Center has the seal of approval from the USGBC as a LEED Gold building at the monthly meeting of the trustees.

To earn LEED recognition, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve various levels of certification. Prerequisites include energy efficiency, energy generation, water conservation, use of recycled materials, minimization and reuse of construction waste and use of low gaseous emissions materials. Forty percent of the building materials used in the Lee Center construction are recycled materials sourced from within 500 miles of the building site.

The purpose of the Lee Center is education, and as part of this mission, the building helps educate users about conservation. For example, signs within the building highlight sustainable innovations. In the main lobby, a sign notes that the walls are covered in reclaimed wood sheathing from a Midwestern barn. Placement of windows and skylights help mitigate the use of electric lighting. When light is needed, it’s provided by LED bulbs, which use 30 percent less electricity than fluorescent bulbs, contain no mercury and because they last 10 times longer, require less maintenance and create less waste.

Computer controlled window shades sense the sun’s angle, temperature and wind speed to help cool the building and allow heat and light in during colder weather. Solar panels are also positioned to shade windows and move with the season to maximize energy production. Even the elevator – constructed from 95 percent recycled material – uses a new technology that is twice as efficient as standard traction elevators and requires no maintenance oils. To help encourage recycling, filtered water stations are located throughout the building so users can refill water bottles.

The Illinois Green Economy Network offers an online dashboard (buildingdashboard.com/clients/oakton/) where the community can monitor the energy savings provided by the solar panels.