University of North Dakota, Gorecki Alumni Center

Grand Forks, North Dakota

Firm

JLG Architects

Client

University of North Dakota / University of North Dakota Alumni Association & Foundation

Area

32,492 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$10,500,000

Completion Date

10/2012

The Gorecki Alumni Center serves as a new cornerstone for events, prospective students, alumni, and visitors to the University of North Dakota. North Dakota’s first and only LEED Platinum certified building, which replaces a smaller, older facility, acts as a statement to the university’s commitment to sustainability and creating a healthy environment for its students, faculty, and community. With a multitude of sustainable features, the Gorecki Alumni Center is the greenest building of its type in the United States. A massive brise soleil creates effective solar protection and cools the building passively. Other sustainable building practices include an optimized mechanical and ventilation system, which has improved indoor air quality by 100 percent, an underground geothermal system, saving the building over 800,000,000 BTUs a year, and a storm water management system, which prevents up to 90 percent of groundwater from becoming polluted. Green is more than a school color at UND; it is a way of life.