University of Southern Maine

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USM's Abromson Center Awarded Prestigious "LEED GOLD" Certification

April 6 , 2006

USM's Abromson Community Education Center has recently been awarded "Gold" LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council for its environmentally responsible design.

It is the first building in Maine, the fifth in New England, and the 89th in the nation to be certified at the Gold level.

The award is based on meeting strict environmental criteria relating to site development and the careful use of energy, water, and materials to minimize the building's impact on the environment while providing high quality conditions for the building's occupants and users. LEED criteria incorporated into the USM project include:

• regionally available materials such as red maple from certified sustainable forests in New England; brick, concrete and steel from Maine manufacturers; and sheet rock from New Hampshire
• materials with high recycled content such as carpeting, sheet rock and steel
• energy efficient geothermal heating and cooling system
• water efficient system that collects rain/storm water from the roof for use in flushing toilets
• energy efficient "displacement ventilation" system that provides conditioned air for the 524-seat auditorium, quiet enough to "hear a poet whisper"
• recycling of 90 percent of construction waste
• renewable energy generation with a 7800 watt photo-voltaic system on the roof.

John Rasmussen, building construction engineer for USM and a LEED-accredited professional, says, "Everyone is excited these days about sustainable construction practices and the LEED process. The governor of Maine has ordered that the design, construction and operation of all new or expanded state buildings have to incorporate LEED standards. It's also been embraced by the construction industry nationwide. It's a remarkable movement. I've been in construction for 30 years and I've never seen anything like it. Architects, engineers and contractors are taking the risk to try different things and, the more we learn from these efforts, the better - the 'greener' - all buildings will become."

More information on Maine's first Gold LEED building is available at www.usm.maine.edu/abromson.

Editor's Note: The following is background information on the Abromson Center:

USM's Joel and Linda Abromson Community Education Center includes the Hannaford Lecture Hall; a classroom building; a pedestrian skywalk over Bedford St.; and a 1,200-car parking garage. The cost of the entire complex --approximately $25 million-- was paid through a combination of a 2001 state bond; campus fees; private and federal funds.

Architect: Einhorn, Yaffee and Prescott Architects
Neil Martin, Mike Collard and Bill Smith project architects.
Carol Potter, clerk of the works 

Contractor:  Consigli Construction
Dave Onos, project superintendent
Ron Milley, project manager

Engineers:  Woodard and Curran - site engineer
Barry Sheff, project engineer
SMRT- commissioning agent
Brad Hodges, project engineer
Ted Hollidge, site engineer

USM's Division of University Outreach, Maine's largest educational outreach program, is housed in the center. The division offers noncredit, continuing education courses, workshops and special programs to 84,000 people each year. The center is named for Linda Abromson and her late husband, Joel. Linda is a former Portland city councilor; mayor; faculty member in USM's Center for Continuing Education; and former candidate for Congress. Joel Abromson, who was elected four times to the Maine Senate, fought for affordable health care and to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

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