(274e) State of Green Construction Building in the State of Alabama: LEED Certification of Selected Buildings

Sustainable Engineering Design (CE 600) was taught in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) during the spring semester of 2009. Topics included: green building design, green roofs, site selection, site development, transportation, building placement, land design, building configuration, the building shell, energy conservation, water conservation, building ecology, and operations. Included as a part of course was a class project in which class teams each investigated a building in the State of Alabama and identified LEED certification credits, energy conservation techniques, sustainable sites, water efficiency, materials and resources, indoor air quality, and innovation and design. Each team prepared a report and a PowerPoint presentation on their findings. This paper summarizes the findings for the following buildings: Brasfield and Gorrie Headquarters in Birmingham, Homewood Middle School, Tuscaloosa Riverfront Office Development, Birmingham Railroad Park (East Gate Building), and the Miller Gorrie Building Science Center at Auburn University. The LEED certifications for these five buildings range from silver to platinum certification.