When I think of Colorado I think of people who love to stay active, healthy and take sustainability in all forms seriously. Colorado Springs, CO is nested in the Rocky Mountains and is home to many sightseeing attractions like the Garden of the Gods, the US Olympic Headquarters and The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Campus. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) Gallogy Recreation and Wellness Center is one such facility that is taking sustainability to the next level.
The 97,085 square foot Gallogy Recreation center opened its doors in January 2016 upgrading the space for students including a 14,900 square foot fitness center, aquatic center with a 25- yard lap pool, leisure pool, hot tub, water slide and 4 basketball courts also lined for volleyball & badminton, indoor track and group fitness studios. An interesting aspect about the new recreation complex is that the $16.3 million dollars what student funded through tuition dollars as there was an increase in student population from roughly 7,700 students in 2007 to 11,100 in 2014. Students overwhelmingly supported a referendum in Spring 2012 to fund the recreation center expansion as the student population was growing to allow for upgrades to existing buildings to support the growth with the student body.
Gallogy was able to achieve LEED Gold certification with the first recreation center in fall of 2007 with the much smaller recreation center totaling 54,000 square feed and was the first LEED Gold Certified public building in southern Colorado and only the second LEED Gold certified recreation center in the nation. Overall, Gallogy achieved 40 out of a possible 69 points having been certified to LEED BD+C: New Construction for LEED v2.2 in 2009 when the initial building was completed.
Within the LEED Scorecard Gallogy scored highly in the Water Efficiency category achieving 4 out of 5 possible points and Indoor Environmental Quality with 11 out of 15 points being awarded. The facility achieved points for all low emitting materials categories such as: adhesives & sealants, paints & coatings, carpet systems, composite wood & agri-fiber products. This shows dedication to investing in sustainable materials that decrease the buildings overall carbon footprint. Thermal Comfort was also taken strongly into consideration receiving credits for Thermal Comfort for Design and Verification allowing occupants to be at an ambient temperature year round. Within the Innovation category Gallogy achieved 3 credits for Innovation in Design and a credit for having a LEED Accredited Professional on staff.
One area that the project lagged in was the Energy & Atmosphere category where they achieved only 8 out of a possible 17 credits. Within the Optimize Energy Performance category they achieved only 4 out of a possible 10 credits. Increasing the energy performance of the building can help to improve the energy efficiency of the building and boost the overall score of the building. Materials & Resources of the building also lagged as compared to other categories achieving 6 out of a possible 13 points. Most of the credits that where missed in this category where due to lack of materials reuse that accounted for roughly 5 of the overall credits that where missed. One highlight in this category is that within the Constriction waste Management there where able to divert 75% of the materials from disposal which does highlight some of the positive sustainability initiatives that took place.
UCCS Gallogy Recreation Center shows the sustainability initiates that are taking place on college campuses across the country investing in the future of the universities and its students. This facility sets a precedence for what other colleges can do going forward as well
Interested in Learning More?
UCCS Website: https://recwellness.uccs.edu/campus-rec/about-us/history
USGBC Scorecard: https://www.usgbc.org/projects/uccs-recreation-center