Bren Hall is the Greenest Laboratory in the US - LEED Platinum

Real education is about HOW we learn as much as it is WHAT we learn.  And we can now add WHERE we learn to that equation.

The Donald BREN  School of Environmental Science & Management at the U. of California, Santa Barbara is making where students learn and explore a very green environment.

Greening Bren Hall                                                                                         

Bren Hall, which earned recognition as the "greenest" laboratory building in the United States shortly after it was completed, is a physical manifestation of the School's mission and provides a world-class arena for scientific and academic initiative, leadership, invention, and research.  By combining cutting-edge technology with environmentally sound principles, products, and services, Bren Hall has set a new standard for sustainable design. 

Opened in April 2002, Bren Hall is the only laboratory building in the United States to have received the U.S. Green Building Council's Platinum LEEDTM accreditation - the highest level possible - since the USGBC established its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.  Bren Hall sets the highest standard for sustainable buildings of the future, and is being used as a model for other facilities and operations, particularly throughout the campuses and institutions in the state of California. In July 2003, the UC Regents adopted a Green Building Policy for all ten of its campuses, and in November of that year UCSB committed to constructing all new buildings to the level of LEEDTM silver. This represents an extraordinary benchmark and demonstrates a serious commitment to sustainability. UCSB's new Marine Science Institute (also designed by Bren Hall's architects, Zimmer Gunsul Fransca) has obtained a silver LEEDTM rating. 

The total cost of the building was $26 million. Building in a sustainable manner with sustainable materials added only 2% to the overall costs, which will easily be recovered through energy savings over time. Bren Hall is proof that cost is not a significant deterrent to green construction.

For descriptions and images of individual building spaces in Bren Hall, please visit our Rooms & Halls, Teaching Labs, and Research Labs web pages.

Awards & Honors

Flex Your Power Energy Efficiency Award (February 2004)

International Interior Design Association Environmental Award (May 2003)

Parade of Green Buildings featured site (April 2003)

Goleta Valley Beautiful Award (November 2002)

LEEDTM Platinum Award, USGBC(April 2002) Commendation from former California Governor Gray Davis (2002)

Commendation from the County of Santa Barbara (2002)

Case Study for the California Energy Commission

Case Study for the California State and Consumer Services Agency

LEED Rating

The USGBC's LEEDTM program is a credit system. The pilot program in effect when Bren Hall was being built (version 1.0) specified a total of 44 available credits, 6 bonus credits, and 10 prerequisites, arranged in the following five categories describing major areas of sustainable design: sustainable site planning, improving energy efficiency, conserving materials and resources, enhancing indoor air quality, and safeguarding water. Click here to view or print the Acrobat pdf document that itemizes Bren Hall's sustainable features in these areas.

Bren Hall achieved a score of 37 points to receive a Platinum rating, the highest available. It surpasses the new Title 24 requirements for energy efficiency standards by more than 31%.

Click here to view the document that itemizes each LEEDTM category and credit, and how it was achieved.