FULLERTON, CA-CSU Fullerton Student Housing Phase III utilized at least a dozen different design practices in its successful effort to become LEED-Platinum certified. As GlobeSt.com reported earlier today, the 348,000-square-foot student-housing complex here has been awarded “Best Overall Sustainable Design” in the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference's 8^th annual Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practices Awards Competition.

To obtain LEED certification, projects must follow strict guidelines during design and construction, according to Steinberg Architects, designer of the CSU Fullerton project. The team for the CSU Fullerton project, which also included PCL Construction Services Inc., incorporated sustainable construction operations, waste diversion and water- and energy-efficient practices in the design. Some examples of this are:

• a four-pipe central-plant HVAC system
• bioswales for storm-water management
• low water-use irrigation and plant selection
• low-flow plumbing fixtures
• highly energy-efficient glass and window systems
• energy-management systems
• high-efficiency lighting and lighting controls
• LED outdoor lighting
• sunshades
• discriminate building orientation on site
• recycling of existing site paving and concrete materials on site
• enhanced commissioning

The project team for the student-housing complex—the first LEED-Platinum-certified project in the California State University System—will be honored at a ceremony during the conference, set for June 23-27 at UC Santa Barbara.

Rob Steinberg, president of Steinberg Architects, tells GlobeSt.com, “This was a collaborative, holistic effort, initiated from the competition vision of the design team and fully endorsed by the University. We all shared a vision of responsible stewardship of public land and buildings.”