Eco-Note: Pondside III LEED® Certification

Keene State College’s Pondside III residence hall recently received LEED® Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED® is a rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy-efficient, high-performance buildings. This was the first time Keene State chose to document its efforts for external review and certification through LEED.

Many have asked about the features that distinguish this building on our campus. LEED® certification of Pondside III was based on a number of green design and construction features (you can see the finished building in this slideshow):

• Sustainable interior surfaces and furniture such as a composite product made of recycled soda can shavings for countertops and windowsills
• All flooring materials include recycled content
• Lighting controls with motion-sensing on/off switches
• Low-energy lighting fixtures
• Natural light comes from the placement of glass walls, allowing spaces to be viewed from within the building and from outside, further encouraging students to socialize and work together
• Natural materials and colors serve to complement and mirror the building’s rural environmental context and emphasize the residential feeling of the structure.