The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s John P. Murtha Engineering and Science Building recently underwent a renovation and has achieved a LEED-certified designation. The renovation included the addition of a chemical engineering building that now houses laboratories, classrooms, study spaces, and faculty offices. The new labs provide areas for student experiments related to various aspects of chemical engineering.
The new building has made significant strides in sustainability, with measures such as keeping a major portion of the building envelope, reducing light pollution, and minimizing heat island effects. Energy recovery equipment has been added for new laboratory mechanical systems, along with variable frequency drives for pumps and fans, and building automation to further enhance energy efficiency.
This new LEED-certified space brings the total number of LEED-certified spaces across Pitt campuses to 18, totaling 1.39 million square feet. It is the third LEED-certified space at Pitt-Johnstown, following the Nursing & Health Sciences Building in 2015 and the John P. Murtha Center in 2022. The LEED green building rating system recognizes projects that demonstrate sustainability in various aspects such as carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health, and indoor environmental quality.
For more information on Pitt’s sustainability commitments and the latest sustainability progress report, visit their website. Nick France provided the information, with photography by Aimee Obidzinski.