The University of Syracuse’s new Center of Excellence (CoE) headquarters in downtown Syracuse, New York, has garnered LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Built to exemplify green building principles, the headquarters also houses a number of research labs dedicated to addressing global environmental challenges.
 

Built on a three-acre, EPA-designated brownfield site, the Syracuse CoE construction team first completely remediated the site, clearing the land of environmental contamination and restoring it for sustained use by Syracuse CoE and future generations. The building was constructed by LeChase Construction Services, diverting 98 percent of unused materials from landfills.

Green features of the building include a green roof, a geothermal system, lighting and control systems, natural ventilation, advanced building heat recovery/reuse systems, air quality monitoring, and rainwater capture/reuse. All of which seems appropriate for a building that houses research laboratories for indoor environmental quality and biomass fuel,(as well as classrooms, public spaces and additional lab space for use by Syracuse CoE academic and industry partners).

Facilities include the Willis H. Carrier Total Indoor Environmental Quality Lab – said to be the only research facility of its kind dedicated to conducting controlled experiments on the human response to indoor environments (temperature, air quality, odor, light, etc.) —  as well as the 150-foot Urban Ecosystem Observatory, which takes measurements of outdoor air quality to help research into urban air pollution and the impact of buildings on urban ecosystems.