Sustainable Building Design

Named to honor former UNE President Danielle N. Ripich, the Ripich Commons, a three-level, multipurpose facility designed to support students’ everyday needs, boasts many innovative and ecologically sound features, including bird-safe glass, which was installed at the request of environmentally conscious undergraduates. The building was constructed with regionally sourced materials as well as materials with high recycled content, and it sports solar panels as the result of efforts by students in an Introduction to Environmental Studies class.

Built in 2010, Sokokis Hall is the largest of our residence halls, hosting a maximum of 300 upperclass students in suite-style living. With radiant floor heating, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and a sophisticated energy management system, it is the second of UNE’s two buildings that received silver level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The building’s landscaping showcases a pond that not only adds beauty and tranquility to the grounds but serves an important function in retaining storm water.

A 145,000-square-foot state-of-the-art athletics facility, the Harold Alfond Forum was built in 2012 and underwent an expansion in 2017. From its highly efficient Ice Kube system that reclaims heat from the process of producing ice for the hockey rink to its locker room ventilation system that utilizes “air cleaners” to limit exhaust flow and heat escape, the building is an example of environmental best practices for an athletics facility. Even the Zamboni used to maintain the ice and the truck used to paint the ice are fully electric vehicles. In 2024, UNE unveiled a 321.6-kilowatt solar array atop the Harold Alfond Forum, representing its largest and most visible investment in renewable energy to date. 

Offering 27,550 square feet of space, including five internal pools, wet and dry laboratories, offices, and classrooms as well as a tidal pumping system and a 550,000-gallon storage tank, the Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center opened in 2001 to support the School of Marine and Environmental Programs. Among other environmentally responsible features, the building sports a solar thermal wall, solar panels, and an energy-saving gravity-fed system to move large quantities of sea water in and out of the building. 

Built in 2009, UNE’s School of Pharmacy building is one of two University buildings that have received silver level Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) certification. In addition to several sustainable features incorporated into the structure, the construction of the building itself was performed using sustainable practices. For example, excavated material from the site was reused as clean fill on another local construction project, and 78% of the construction waste was recycled and diverted from landfills and incineration. Furthermore, the process of planning the building involved setting aside, as open, preserved conservation space, an area twice the size of the building’s footprint.

Built in 2013, UNE’s Oral Health Center serves as the clinical education center for UNE’s College of Dental Medicine. The building incorporates multiple energy-saving systems and products, from heat recovery units to high performance windows and below grade insulation, and features gravity-fed underground structures that capture stormwater and gradually release it below ground level.

Currently under construction and set to open in 2024, the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences (HBACHS) will be a 110,000-square-foot custom-built, state-of-the-art facility serving as home to UNE’s College of Osteopathic Medicine as well as a hub of interprofessional practice utilized by all of UNE’s health professions programs. HBACHS will feature energy-efficient windows and mechanical systems, including water-source heat pumps, and low-flow plumbing fixtures. The building will exemplify carbon-conscious construction, from its use of materials that require lower levels of carbon in the manufacturing process to its parking lot that provides electric charging to a fifth of all parking spots.