Iowa State has officially added Geoffroy Hall to the list of buildings that have received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification as, Iowa State continues to be the college with the most LEED certified buildings, ahead of University of Northern Iowa and University of Iowa. 

LEED is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council, or USGBC, to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design. Silver, Gold and Platinum are the three different LEED awards, with Silver being the lowest and Platinum the highest.

With the addition of Geoffroy Hall to the list of LEED certified buildings on campus, Iowa State now has 14 certified buildings and currently has 12 registered buildings that have not yet been certified. This means that Iowa State still has the most LEED certified buildings compared to University of Northern Iowa’s four LEED certified buildings and University of Iowa’s 14 buildings. 

Geoffroy Hall had to also meet certain criteria in order to earn their certification. Some of these requirements include residents having access to four CyRide routes, having 77 percent of construction waste be recycled rather than landfilled, and 24 percent of building materials contain recycled materials, paints, flooring, composite wood, adhesives and sealants emit no or low levels of toxins. All of the requirements are available on the Inside Iowa State webpage, as well as on the official USGBC webpage.

“I think Geoffroy getting gold is great it’s the 1st to receive certification on campus, it’s a great opportunity with residence hall to build a green residential facility.” said Kerry Dixon, a project manager from facilities, planning and management who oversaw the project. Dixon also played a role in the building of Geoffroy Hall.

“Since the beginning, the goal was to receive LEED Gold standard for all future projects and building renovations. It shows that we really are committed to building and operating sustainably,” Dixon said. When asked why Iowa State’s other residence halls didn’t have LEED certification, Dixon explained that LEED was not yet an option when those halls were created.

The certification’s significance is due to Geoffroy Hall being the first residence hall to receive its LEED certification, and the fact that most of Geoffrey Hall’s features were chosen by students. In addition, Bessey Hall and Frederiksen Court apartments are also undergoing renovations to get their LEED certifications. 

As of now, any future construction projects at Iowa State will adhere to LEED standards and will be LEED certified. 

“As of now, new construction and renovations will follow the LEED standard. Small projects, like renovating a single room, LEED is not a process that we will go through,” Dixon said. “We do, however, take the lessons we learned through LEED and use it for future renovations and buildings.”