OU Earns Its First LEED Gold Certification for Gallogly Hall

NORMAN, OKLA. – Gallogly Hall has earned the University of Oklahoma its first LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its environmentally conscious design and sustainability practices.

Completed and opened to occupants in July 2019, Gallogly Hall is home to engineers of all disciplines at OU.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement. Green building aims to identify solutions that balance environmental, social and economic needs throughout the planning, design, construction and operation of built structures. Projects pursing LEED certification earn points across categories that pertain to site, water, energy, materials, indoor air and innovation.

“Taking a project through the LEED certification process is rigorous and challenging,” said Eric Conrad, OU vice president for operations and chief operating officer. “Many factors in Gallogly Hall’s design and its ongoing operations played a role in its gold certification achievement. It was truly a team effort, and I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication that went into the project by a whole host of OU employees.”

Situated in the heart of OU’s Engineering Quad, the 75,000-square-foot facility was built over the course of two years and has four stories and a basement.

The project employed many sustainable design and construction strategies, including:

• use of an innovative hybrid HVAC system that utilizes both variable volume air handling and exhaust systems and chilled beams;
• utilization of recycled and locally available materials;
• mitigation of the heat island effect through roof and hardscape materials meeting or exceeding the LEED solar reflective index;
• diversion of 80% of on-site construction generated waste from the landfill;
• and implementation of a storm water and condensate recovery system for reuse in the building purified water system.

The final design of Gallogly Hall is expected to yield energy cost savings of 39%, when compared to buildings constructed using traditional design practices.

The building houses the Gallogly College of Engineering’s Diversity and Inclusion Program, the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, 10 classrooms and teaching labs, group meeting spaces, a maker’s space, a rooftop terrace and a large common area.

Eight other university buildings have received LEED recognition. Three Partners Place, Zarrow Hall, Four Partners Place, Radar Innovations Laboratory, Five Partners Place and Headington Hall have earned a Certified rating, and the Residential Colleges and Lin Hall have earned a Silver rating.