San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

Green plans for ModernSpace

Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor

Associated Students is planning for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for ModernSpace with the help of green building consultants.

Green building consultant Lynn Simon, of Simon & Associates, inc., was visiting San Diego State to give a presentation at the A.S. meeting last Wednesday. Simon was hired by A.S. as a building consultant to help obtain platinum status LEED certification for ModernSpace.
“Everybody has a very special role when they’re doing a LEED certified project,” Simon said. “So my role is to really sort of facilitate that process and serve as a resource and technical support on the project.”

LEED is a system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to certify green buildings according to its Web site.

Some ways of potentially obtaining LEED certification for ModernSpace are site sustainability, storm water usage, water-efficient plumbing fixtures and recycled materials.
According to Simon, site sustainability is already something that could be counted toward LEED certification because of SDSU’s proximity to the trolley and public transportation.
One possibility for the building would be the installation of a vegetative roof that would collect reusable storm water.

“It could be possible that you could gather all that water and then clean it up and use it for flushing toilets,” Glen Brandenburg, director of the Mission Bay Aquatic Center said. “There are all sorts of different ways you can reuse water.”

Designing a building to achieve LEED certification adds to the overall costs to build, but is expected to save money in the long term.

However, it is too early in the process to know exactly how much it will cost. A.S. decided that no more than five percent of the total cost would be spent on LEED certification, according to Brandenburg.

“It was pointed out that the national average is three to seven percent,” Brandenburg said. “So they picked a middle-of-the-road five percent.”

Many LEED qualifications are being considered right now, but nothing specific has been decided. A.S. is still in the early planning stages for ModernSpace, Brandenburg said.
“One of the key things of being able to have a LEED building that achieves platinum is teamwork,” Brandenburg said. “It’s extremely complicated to build a $50 and $70 million building. … So you take that already complicated process and add all these new ideas and so it really takes a person and a company to coordinate all that.”

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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
Green plans for ModernSpace