USG's Camille Kendall Academic Center Earns "Best Green Building" Award
ROCKVILLE, MD (June 9, 2008) - The
Camille Kendall Academic Center at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in
Rockville, Maryland, was honored as the "Best Green Building" by the National
Association of Industrial & Office Parks (NAIOP). Skanska USA won the award for
innovation in sustainable buildings from the chapter encompassing Washington D.C., Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. Skanska, a leading construction firm
recognized for its sustainability expertise, served as the
construction manager for the project.
The 192,000 square-foot Kendall Center is the largest
"green" higher education building in the state of Maryland and one of the
first University System of Maryland (USM) buildings to achieve a LEED®-Gold
certification. The certification,
awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, reflects adherence to stringent
sustainable design and construction measures that protect and preserve natural
resources.
The building's "green" features include roof gardens, an
energy-conserving HVAC and water system, recycled building materials, and the
use of sustainable materials such as wheat board, bamboo flooring, and banana
fiber tables. The Kendall Center was named "Public Building of the Year" by
the American Institute of Architects (AIA) of Maryland.
"The Camille Kendall Academic Center demonstrates the
university system's commitment to create well designed, environmentally sensitive facilities," said USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan. "Sustainability will shape our policies and practices as we work to confront the challenges of climate change. This new center demonstrates that ‘good' design and ‘green' design can go hand-in-hand."
The center is the
centerpiece of the 50-acre campus with its state-of-the-art features including
45 "smart" classrooms, 10 computer classrooms, two open computer laboratories, as
well as distance-learning classrooms, administrative and faculty offices, and a
20,000-square-foot library. It offers
expansive student services, student lounges, study areas, a 200-seat dining
hall, a bookstore operated by Barnes & Noble, and fitness center.
The center is named
for Camille Kendall, a leading Montgomery County philanthropist with a long record of
supporting higher education in the area. Camille and her husband Cliff, a University of Maryland alumnus and chairman of the USM Board of
Regents, have donated more than $3 million for endowed scholarships at USG to
aid transfer students who demonstrate financial need, great potential for
success, and a spirit of community service
The Universities at Shady Grove is an
innovative model for delivering top-quality higher education programs. USG is not one university; instead it is a
collaboration of nine leading public universities in Maryland offering more
than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Montgomery County.
Established in 2000, the USG campus now serves
2,600 full- and part-time students who take classes days, evenings, and
weekends. Participating USM partners include Bowie State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; University of Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland, College
Park; University of Maryland Eastern
Shore; and University of Maryland University College.
Contact: John Buettner
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: jbuettner@usmd.edu
