The Natural History Building was certified LEED Gold on January 29, 2019. The project achieved 61 out of 110 points on the LEED v2009 New Construction scorecard, with a significant number of points from the Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, and Materials & Resources categories.
The Surveying Building was awarded LEED Gold Certification on October 19, 2018. The project earned 63 of a total 110 points on the LEED v2009 New Construction scorecard. The project made significant strides toward optimized energy performance, water efficiency, and a sustainable site. A further breakdown of points can be found in the USGBC directory and in the scorecard below.
The Chez Family Foundation Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education was awarded LEED Gold Certification on January 29, 2019. The project achieved 60 out of 110 total points on the LEED v2009 BD+C: New Construction scorecard, giving it Gold status. Along with sustainability, a major focus of the Veterans Center is occupant comfort. 12 of 15 points were achieved in the Indoor Environmental Quality category for strategies taken including optimal daylighting and views, thermal comfort design and verification, and individual controls of lighting and thermal comfort systems.
The State Farm Center was awarded the LEED Gold Certification on July 16, 2018, having achieved 70 of the 110 possible points on the LEED Scorecard. Quercus, as the sub-contractor to AECOM, worked closely with Turner/Clayco was the LEED AP on the project.
The UIUC Pilot Bike Share program is a proposal for a two year pilot bike share program. This pilot program will be a 50 bike fleet. It will be using a new approach to bike sharing through smart locks. Smart locks contain all the technology for the bike-sharing program linked to a smart phone. The smart locks will allow for versatility in the type of bikes to use within the system and where the bikes could be located. iSEE is exploring a collaboration with BitLock for the smart locks and Neutral Cycle for the bikes.
There are beautiful native plants at the Chi Omega plaza between the English Building and Lincoln Hall, near Wright Street. These flowers were installed with support from the "Chi Omega Centennial Plaza Maintenance Fund" through the University of Illinois Foundation.
In 2018, the Chi Omega Plaza was redesigned and replanted, using a design prepared by the University Landscape Architect, Brent Lewis.
The Illini Union currently has two rooms that are using outdated lighting fixtures. Rooms 104 and 222 of the Illini Union are utilized extensively throughout the day. Both rooms maintain a high level of foot traffic and visibility within the building. An assessment team concluded that transitioning the old lighting fixtures to LED would have an overwhelmingly positive impact on energy consumption and unnecessary waste.
Before 2016, the area near the College of Veterinary Medicine was often a victim of flooding. Beginning in May of that year and reaching completion in August, construction of the rain garden reduced the concern of flooding. Prairie Restoration, Inc. provided planting and initial watering. Although not as many of the seeds established themselves as expected due to heavy rain, the garden has been successful in preventing flooding. A surface incline leads to the garden, whose soil allows for the infiltration of rainwater.
The Fruit Farm Admin building uses geothermal energy.
