by Shane Henson — August 19, 2011—The Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan’s first zero-carbon building, was recently awarded LEED Platinum, the highest honor under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification program by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This recognition and others have earned its place in The World’s Greenest Buildings next year; the Research Center is one of 10 buildings representing Asia in the book.
The Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center is the world’s first green education center, sponsored by NCKU, Delta Electronics’ Chairman Bruce Cheng and more than 30 enterprises. The three-story, 4,800-square-meter green building, 100% built with green materials with 65% energy saving and 50% water saving, serves as the university’s international conference center and is used to showcase technological innovations of green buildings. It is estimated that the building uses 35% of the energy needed in a typical office building. Other key features include toilets that can reduce water runoff and result in 50% water saving, and roof garden soil that uses lightweight ceramics.
The Center has gained numerous world recognitions. Its construction process was recorded by the Discovery Channel in 2009 and it has received an outstanding award in the World Green Roof Conference in Hainan, China. The building also won the highest green building certificate (Diamond-Grade) from Taiwan’s Ecology, Energy Saving, Waste Reduction and Health (EEWH) rating system in April 2011. The Research Center is not only the first Asian building to attain a LEED Platinum certification in the Education category, but also the only green building to receive the highest certifications from both Taiwan’s EEWH and the U.S. LEED systems.
The myriad ways in which the Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center reduces energy use and waste are intended to serve as examples to facilities managers and related energy and building professionals across the globe and to guide them in implementing best practices that will move their buildings towards greater sustainability.
