The Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus — South Complex earned certification as a LEED Silver building by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The approximately $140 million project, funded entirely by athletic donor contributions, added 280,000 square feet of space for track and field, cross country, lacrosse, soccer and rowing programs.
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The certification encompasses the lacrosse stadium, outdoor competition track (including the press box, stands, and outdoor throwing area), indoor track facility and the Sports Performance Center.
Because these facilities and exterior field elements intersect, both physically and in function, they were grouped together within the LEED project boundary.
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used “green building” rating system in the world. It recognizes sustainability efforts to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings on one of four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Since 2005, when U-M first received “green building” certifications, 16 projects have been LEED-certified. The athletic department previously completed an expansion at Crisler Center that achieved LEED Gold status — among the first arenas in the country to do so.
All new U-M buildings and additions with an estimated construction budget greater than $10 million are required to achieve LEED Silver certification.
The Athletic Campus — South Complex features an array of water-conservation, energy cost-reduction and waste-reduction measures.
Low-flow bathroom fixtures aim to reduce potable water use by 32 percent beyond what the 2009 Michigan Plumbing Code would require for the complex. The project is also designed to reduce energy costs by 28 percent beyond American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers requirements.
Thirty-two percent of total materials content, by value, was manufactured using recycled materials, while 27 percent of total materials content, by value, was manufactured and extracted within 500 miles of the project. In addition, 84 percent of demolition and construction waste was diverted from the landfill.
