2005 Best Practice Awards

The fourth annual UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference was held June 19-22, 2005 at UC Santa Cruz and drew over 400 participants. The two-page case studies below document the outstanding energy-efficiency and sustainability achievements of the 2005 Best Practice Award recipients. The winning projects are excellent examples of innovative and cost-effective green building technologies, design strategies, and building operation practices being implemented on campuses across the state.

Best Overall Sustainable Design

Arboretum with oranges

CSU Fullerton Arboretum Visitor Center
The Arboretum Visitor Center uses cost-effective, low-tech environmental design principles to present a more sustainable approach to resource use. The building demonstrates how green solutions can be applied to other university projects and the wider community.

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Veterinary Medicine Instructional Facility

UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Instructional Facility
To regain full accreditation of its renowned academic programs, the School of Veterinary Medicine undertook major reconstruction and modernization of its facilities. The project team used an integrated design process to construct a climatically responsive and energy-efficient building.

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Behavioral and Social Sciences

Humboldt State Behavioral and Social Sciences
Humboldt State successfully used a design-build process to produce a high-performance, environmentally responsible building within the project budget. It will be the first building in the 23-campus CSU system to achieve a LEED®-NC Gold rating for environmental sustainability.

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Best HVAC Design

Molecular and Life Sciences

CSU Long Beach Molecular & Life Sciences Center
CSU Long Beach used a whole-building design process to reduce cooling loads in the Molecular and Life Sciences Center. This strategy enabled right-sizing of HVAC equipment, which lowered the system’s first-cost and reduces energy expenses over the lifetime of the building.

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Supercomputer Center Expansion

UC San Diego Supercomputer Center Expansion
Occupants of the Supercomputer Center expansion will enjoy a combination of tempered supply air and natural ventilation via a hybrid mechanical-natural ventilation HVAC system. The building is projected to use 43% less energy than a Title 24 baseline building.

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Best HVAC Retrofit

Pacific Hall

UC San Diego Laboratory Retrofit
Installing variable frequency drives and lowering the air change rate in two laboratories enables UC San Diego to prevent 1.38 million kg of carbon dioxide emissions from being produced each year. Annual utility bill savings of $314,000 will pay for the cost of implementation in just over 2 years.

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Best Load Management Program

UCSD campus

UC San Diego Load-Shed Programming
UC San Diego’s automatic load-shed programming responds to grid emergencies and reduces costs associated with purchasing utility-provided electrical power. The success of the project has produced new campus standards, and is now a fundamental part of the campus energy management plan.

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Cal Poly Chiller

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Chiller Relocation
Cal Poly has increased the campus’s cooling capacity by relocating two oversized chillers into the centralized distribution loop. The campus can now utilize the chiller’s full capacity and run the equipment in its optimal operating range. The project saves over $15,000 annually.

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Credits: The 2005 Best Practice case studies were written and produced by Trista Little and David Lehrer of UC Berkeley’s Green Building Research Center, with support from Maric Munn and Matt St.Clair of the UC Office of the President.

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