Green Design Strategies

Western Michigan University is committed to pursuing sustainable alternatives to traditional facility design and construction practices. The first major project to showcase this commitment was the design and creation of the Parkview Campus, which minimized the development's impact on the surrounding neighborhoods and watershed while restoring historic vegetation.

Most of the recent building projects on campus have been designed to satisfy LEED certification standards. The LEED rating system for high-performance, sustainable buildings and interiors is organized into six categories:

• Energy and Atmosphere
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation and Design
• Materials and Resources
• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency

Each category contains guidelines for the use and application of materials and equipment that will qualify for or contribute to certification points. The guidelines also provide minimum thresholds of certain activities, such as 75 percent recycling of construction waste. The actual selection and implementation of specific products, procedures or construction practices is the responsibility of the design professional.

More Information

Buillding Life Cycle flowchart
Sustainable building practices used in recent projects
WMU Facility Life Cycle Design Guidelines