Skip to main content
Prospective Graduate Student homeSustainability home
LEED Buildings
McCourtney Hall

Anchoring the new East Quad, the 220,000 square foot McCourtney Hall of Molecular Science and Engineering is a LEED Gold certified building.

The U.S. Green Building Council offers a certification program that grades buildings based on their adherence to sustainable practices Called the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification (LEED), many college campuses use this to ensure that new construction projects are sustainable.

Based on metrics decided by the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings are assigned a rating based on how many points it accumulates: Platinum (80+), Gold (60-79 points), Silver (50-59), and Certified (40-49). The points span across many aspects of sustainability: Location and Transportation: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Integrative Process, Innovation, and Regional Priority.

Notre Dame's LEED Buildings
Notre Dame continues to construct new buildings and renovate existing ones in accordance with the LEED guidelines. Notre Dame has 17 LEED certified buildings:

  1. Carole Sandner Hall (Gold)
  2. Compton Family Ice Arena (Silver)
  3. Corbett Family Hall (Gold)
  4. Duncan Student Center (Gold)
  5. Dunne Hall (Gold)
  6. Flaherty Hall (Gold)
  7. Geddes Hall (Gold)
  8. Harris Family Track and Field (Silver)
  9. Jenkins and Nanovic Halls (Silver)
  10. Leighton Hall at Innovation Park (Silver)
  11. McCourtney Hall (Gold)
  12. Morris Inn (Gold)
  13. O’Neill Hall of Music (Gold)
  14. Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center (Gold)
  15. Ryan Hall (Gold)
  16. Stayer Center (Silver)
  17. Stinson-Remick Hall (Gold)
Case Study: McCourtney Hall
The daily operation of McCourtney Hall conserves energy and water. Throughout the interior and exterior of the building, LED lighting decreases the amount of electricity used, while occupancy sensors in the interior spaces reduce lighting power density, conserve the amount of airflow and reduce reheat energy. Notably, a heat recovery system moves heat from the exhaust air to the supply air during the winter months, and from the supply air to the exhaust air in the summer months, which reduces the consumption of chilled water and steam. Similarly, a heat recovery chiller moves heat from the chilled water return to the heating water supply, which also reduces the consumption of chilled water and steam. With high-efficiency fixtures and sensor metered lavatory faucets, the facility uses 37 percent less water than the standard new facility.