The University of Illinois ECE Building achieved LEED Platinum status on November 4, 2019. The project was awarded 81 of 110 total points on the LEED v2009 New Construction scorecard. The building earned a significant number of points in the Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, and Energy and Atmosphere categories.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (ECE Illinois) is the epicenter of new technology and groundbreaking innovation. Intended to go beyond a collection of bricks and mortar, the new ECE building will be the heart and soul of the department – a place where curiosity is celebrated and intellectual collisions occur naturally. The building, containing 230,000 square foot of research, instructional and office space, is designed to inspire and support interdisciplinary learning and research. From its inception, the building design was influenced by energy efficiency. This high-performance building is the direct result of integrating culture, energy research and architecture – a new paradigm for sustainable design. 

Achievements of the ECE Building include:

• 43% less energy consumption than the minimum building energy efficiency standards established in ASHRAE 90.1-2007.
• Displacement and demand control ventilation, heat recovery chillers with net metering, and chilled beam technology to minimize the building’s carbon footprint.
• A pressure equalizing terra cotta rainscreen cladding system with an R-30 thermal envelope create optimum energy performance. The terra cotta baguettes act as exterior shading devices on 80% of the glazing.
• Passive solar design features: optimal building orientation, and 30% overall glazing and exterior shading devices that lend to greater daylighting and reduced energy load.
• 73% of the construction waste stream was diverted to recycling.
• Bicycle parking and storage facilities for 11% of the full-time equivalent of building occupants.
• 90% of average annual rainfall is captured and treated and indoor water use has been reduced by 40%.
• Reduction in heat island effect with both 100% of roof and nonroof surfaces exceeding the minimum solar reflectance index.
• Solar panels generating renewable energy on-site and supplying 10% of the building’s electricity. Additionally, the project has a two-year agreement to procure 36% of the building’s electricity through purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
• 38% of total building materials have been manufactured using recycled content and 34% have been manufactured and extracted locally.