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The University of Florida鈥檚 Biomedical Sciences Building has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The building is one of 18 LEED-certified UF facilities, and one of five to receive Gold certification. It is the university鈥檚 first Gold LEED-certified research facility.

鈥淲e are working hard to make our buildings environmentally responsible,鈥� said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D, senior vice president for health affairs and president of the UF&Shands 网红黑料 System. 鈥淲e want our labs, our hospitals and our classrooms to have a minimal effect on the land, the air, the water. We want to save money by operating facilities more efficiently. And the good thing about all this? When you consider these factors you actually build better buildings for our investigators, students, patients and staff.鈥�

The facility鈥檚 environmentally friendly nature appeals to occupants and even helps to recruit other scientists to work in the building.

鈥淢ost scientists have a little bit of green in them,鈥� said Todd Golde, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience in the College of Medicine and member of the UF Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, who works on the fourth floor of the building. 鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly an added attraction to say that you鈥檙e working in a building that has some green element to it.

鈥淲e should try to minimize our impact at every step of the way,鈥� Golde said.

The BMS building boasts 34,000 gallons of environmentally friendly wall paint, 920 gallons of low-emission flooring adhesive and 50,000 square feet of 鈥済reen鈥� carpet tile. Seventy-nine percent of the wood used is Forest Stewardship Council certified. Demolition of facilities previously at this location and construction of the new building diverted 3,265 tons of materials from landfills. Plumbing fixtures in the building are low-flow, and irrigation outside the facility uses 100 percent reclaimed water.

The building was designed by Hunton Brady Architects Inc., and built by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. Bahar Armaghani, assistant director of facilities planning and construction, directs UF鈥檚 LEED program.

Levels of LEED certification are assigned to buildings that meet criteria in five areas related to environmental impact, including energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. The highest certifications are platinum, gold and silver.

鈥淯F is thrilled to have its first Gold research laboratory facility, the first of its kind in the state of Florida,鈥� said Carol Walker, assistant vice president for business affairs. 鈥淭his achievement recognizes the commitment of the university to assuring that all building types are sustainable, energy-efficient and provide a healthy environment for its occupants.鈥�

The 163,000-square-foot BMS building opened in November and was dedicated in May. It is home to five interdisciplinary programs that bring together researchers from the colleges of medicine, public health and health professions, and engineering: In addition to the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, it houses the Diabetes Center of Excellence, the J. Crayton Pruitt department of biomedical engineering, the Rehabilitation Research Program in the department of physical therapy and the UF Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science for Life Undergraduate Laboratory.

鈥淭his building brought together a vast array of design and techniques to minimize the energy use,鈥� said Frank Javaheri, a senior project manager with facilities planning and construction who managed the BMS building project, 鈥渁nd we are very appreciative of our excellent team of architects, engineers, construction manager and commissioning consultants. We also received valuable input from our 网红黑料 Science Center physical plant team and the user group. All these people made it possible for us to reach and surpass our original Silver environmental goal.鈥�