Universities of Toledo, Minnesota Embrace Eco-buildings

The University of Toledo has added a Campus of Energy and Innovation, while the University of Minnesota’s new football stadium has earned LEED Silver status.

At the University of Toledo, the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation features a wind turbine and 10 kilowatt solar installation. In addition to generating electricity for the campus, the facility will serve as a hands-on renewable energy lab, reports WTOL.

Meanwhile, the new TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota, which seats 50,805 Golden Gopher fans, has been awarded LEED Silver status.

Because it is located on campus, the football stadium takes advantage of alternative transportation, population desnity and shared mechanical equipment with other facilities, all factors that played into the LEED designation, according to a press release.

Here are some other sustainable attributes of the stadium:

• A stormwater management system allows rain water to be captured into a comprehensive underground filtering system outside the stadium, where it is harvested, filtered and drained into the Mississippi River.
• Water efficiency measures, such as regulated lavatory faucets and low-flow urinals, are expected to save 560,000 gallons of water per year.
• Low-maintenance landscape design should save 4.8 million gallons of water per year.

The stadium has incorporated graphic design elements to educate the public about the building’s green design elements.