By La’Niya Jones
MIDLAND – Please give a big round of applause to the Delta Downtown Midland Center for receiving a gold level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
LEED is used worldwide as a framework for healthy, efficient, and low-cost green buildings. Green buildings are buildings that help improve or maintain their surrounding environment. The focus of the program is to save energy, reduce carbon emissions, and do anything else that can help the environment stay in a healthy and green state. It also works to address climate change, support fair communities, and much more.
To take a closer look at LEED, visit their website.
To earn points, a project must adhere to prerequisites and address topic areas like water, waste, health, energy, and much more. Much research and planning are put in place to make these projects possible. After project completion, they are reviewed by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) and ranked by level based on their points, with the lowest being certified and the highest being platinum.
The Delta Downtown Midland Center took home the gold certification for its amazing contribution to the health of the environment. The building uses 40% less water than normal buildings and has an energy reduction rate of 40%. More than 50 materials used had ingredient reports and more than 42% of materials were made from recycled objects. The project helped reduce 65% of the waste that would have been sent to landfills.
A lot of effort was put into this project to make it amazing not only for the environment but also for the community of Delta and the surrounding areas.
The building features big windows all around the school, giving students, staff, and visitors a natural light source and exposure to the sun. People will not feel trapped and boxed in now that they have the outside world right at their fingertips. The building also includes an outside sitting area on the roof, giving students another area to study, do homework, type essays, and much more without feeling stuck inside.
These features and many more will help people feel more motivated, improve their mood, reduce stress, and feel more positive.
The LEED program and gold certification are not the only things that are motivating the Delta community to improve their protection of the environment.
Anthony Khalil is the planning and construction manager.
“Indoor air quality and occupant comfort aren’t just LEED benchmarks to us;” Khalil said. “They’re features that make our facilities healthier places for our students, faculty, staff, and community members to be.
Delta’s main plan is to make places feel comfortable and healthy for the community. Delta College will continue to be a leader for change that will help the environment and community for the better.
“That is important to us,” Khalil said.
