The college has enlisted DPR Construction Inc. and Mahlum Architects to help construct its roughly 160,000-sf Seminar II building, which will come with a "Gold" Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

The building encompasses five clusters of classrooms, lecture halls and faculty office space. The project also includes a support area for the clusters equipped with walkways, elevators and a Public Services center and a Part-Time Studies building.

According to Michel George, Evergreen's director of facilities, the goal to utilize sustainable building principles was established in the predesign study to provide energy conservation, create opportunities for the building to function as a learning tool and further integrate ecology into the culture of the school. "As an owner, The Evergreen State College is very environmentally sensitive and committed to creating a green campus. Achieving the Gold certification will require a high level of diligence on the part of all the team members," says Ken Schmidt, project engineer of DPR. "Lessons learned from previous LEED projects are being implemented at this site, allowing the team to improve upon past processes and set the higher standard."