The new addition to the Curry School of Education, Bavaro Hall, opened in the summer of 2010 but has already moved to the head of the class.
Bavaro Hall was recently given LEED Gold status by the U.S. Green building Council. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a certification system recognizing buildings that are green—are better for the environment and healthier for the buildings’ users.
“It is a great honor for UVa and for Curry that Bavaro Hall has achieved LEED Gold status,” said Mark Hampton, Associate Dean for Administration and Planning at the Curry School of Education. “This is clear proof of the University’s commitment to sustainability, and of the Curry School’s ability to marshal resources for a building that is best-of-class for a school of education.”
The LEED certification measure used for Bavaro Hall, Version 2.2, utilizes a 69 point scale with four possible certification levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Bavaro Hall scored 42 points earning it a Gold certification.
The 69 point scale contains a check list of a variety of elements. Access to alternative transportation garners several points, including points for access to public transportation, bicycle storage and changing rooms. Bavaro Hall boasts both a men’s and women’s room outfitted with showers for students, faculty and staff who bike to work or school. There is also a bus stop right outside its door.
Other items adding points to the Bavaro score are using recycled content and regional materials in its construction, as well as low-emitting paint, coatings, adhesives and other materials.
Access to daylight and outdoor views even count. Perhaps a favorite of most users of Bavaro Hall are sometimes enormous windows that are around every turn. Even taking the steps is made more pleasant by the set of three-story windows that run the length of Bavaro Hall’s two stairwells. The atrium on the first floor is another place to take in the sunlight coming through a wall full of windows.
“While Bavaro Hall’s design team provided a handsome and context-sensitive building and landscape, the Gold LEED rating clearly indicates that the complex is very energy and resource efficient and is highly concerned with it’s occupants’ health, well-being and productivity,” said University of Virginia Architect, David Neuman.
“Curry’s students, faculty, and staff already know how the amenities within Bavaro Hall that earned it LEED Gold status – natural lighting, energy-saving fixtures and systems, and even showers for people who choose to bike to work – make it wonderful place to work and study,” said Hampton.
More information on the LEED certification can be found at http://www.usgbc.org
