Date Posted: 08.28.2020
University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) Nuevo East Student Housing has received LEED for New Construction Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The 712,000 sf graduate student housing development consists of more than 1,374 beds and related amenity spaces in six buildings.
Nuevo East features five residential buildings ranging from five to 12 stories. Residential spaces are anchored by the Exchange, a dynamic student resource center with multi-purpose amenity and gathering spaces, university offices and support programs to promote health and wellness. This facility activates the campus edge and defines a welcoming gateway and public plaza for special events like farmers markets, concerts, graduate student lectures and art installations.
Highlights of Nuevo East’s sustainable design include:
ENERGY
Residential and Commercial Buildings account for about 40% of the total energy consumed in the United states per year. Finding ways to reduce energy use during construction, and upon occupancy is an important step in helping to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels to provide energy for a building. At Nuevo East, the buildings perform 30% better than the ASHRAE 90.1 Energy Standard. This metric has been achieved using energy efficient equipment in the buildings, all LED lighting, and a robust building envelope comprised of a continuous rigid insulation.
WATER
To reduce the amount of water consumed at Nuevo East, water-conserving fixtures are used throughout the buildings to reduce potable water demand by 41%. Native and drought-resistant plantings and efficient irrigation systems are projected to save more than 300,000 gallons of water per year. All irrigation water is provided by a municipal recycled water system to eliminate the use of potable water for irrigation.
MATERIALS
Consistent with previous phases of One Mesa, the project diverted more than 75% of construction and demolition debris to recycling and reuse facilities rather than landfills or incineration facilities. The design team also utilized life-cycle assessment (LCA) to maximize resource efficiency and prioritize materials with recycled content.
This project is the third phase of the university’s East Campus student housing program, which also includes the adjacent Mesa Nueva Graduate and Professional Student Housing (Phase 1) and Nuevo West Graduate Student Housing (Phase 2). Together, these communities have added more than 3,500 beds on campus for graduate and professional students. All three phases have achieved LEED Gold certification and were completed by the Hensel Phelps | Mithun design-build team.
