USGBC West Michigan announced Aquinas College’s Albertus Magnus Hall of Science as Certified Green Building Award Winner

The U.S. Green Building Council of West Michigan (USGBC-WM) announced Albertus Magnus Hall of Science at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI, as the Certified Green Building Award Higher Education winner. The Certified Green Building Awards recognize exemplary building projects that received high-performance certifications.

Aquinas College historically has been an advocate for the stewardship of science and the environment. This can be seen through their education programs, campus-wide arboretum,  research and community initiatives, and dedication to sustainability. A reflection of this stewardship is the recently renovated science building: Albertus Magnus Hall of Science. Aquinas College, with the help of Tower Pinkster and Pioneer Construction, achieved LEED Gold certification for this project. When it comes to building design, laboratories can present challenges to out-of-the-box thinking. Aquinas turned the laboratories into an opportunity to focus on the health of those who use the spaces. Listening to the faculty and students, areas of learning were positioned on the outside of the building to maximize daylighting. Albertus has achieved high standards for indoor air quality while consuming half of the energy of the former building.

The USGBC-WM Leadership Awards promote outstanding green building initiatives by recognizing projects, organizations, and people who have made extraordinary contributions to achieving healthy, energy-efficient green buildings in the state of Michigan.“We are thrilled to lift up organizations that lead by example,” says Cheri Holman, Executive Director of the USGBC-WM, “by sharing these accomplishments we can show that good economic decisions and green buildings can be one and the same.”

Aquinas College received their award at USGBC-WM’s Annual Party & Leadership Award Ceremony on the night of March 10th, 2022 at The Ballroom at McKay Tower in downtown Grand Rapids, MI. For more information about USGBCWM’s  Annual Party & Leadership Award Ceremony, please visit www.usgbcwm.org/2021annualparty