The Foster School of Business at the University of Washington recently gained LEED certification for PACCAR Hall, the first phase of a multi-phase project. Located at the convergence of disparate campus plans, the building is part of a plan to transform the university’s current collection of outdated business school facilities into a cohesive, interconnected whole.

The University of Washington, like many leading institutions of higher education, has placed a solid emphasis on building to LEED standards in recent years. Currently, it holds nearly 20 certified buildings — two of them Platinum – and has another 15 pending certification. According to Architizer, PACCAR Hall was designed to intertwine program and community space in a manner characteristic of the business school’s interactive, entrepreneurial culture while encouraging students to engage with the university campus as a whole.

image via Architizer

The building has garnered LEED certification at the Gold level for a host of green building strategies, including extensive day-lighting throughout classrooms, offices and common areas; and displacement HVAC, which saves energy over mixing systems by supplying heated or cooled air only to occupied areas (rather than the entire building).

Indirect evaporative cooling — rather than traditional air conditioning — helps to keep the building cool in the summer without introducing humidity into the interior space.  The building also makes wise use of water, via low-flow fixtures and smart landscaping, and features a green roof, which helps to insulate the building while controling and treating stormwater runoff on site.