College Library Awarded LEED Silver

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Roberts Wesleyan College’s B. Thomas Golisano Library achieved LEED Silver certification, the first college or university facility in the city and only the third college or university library in the Monroe Country to earn the designation.

The $11 million, 43,000-square-foot library, designed by architecture and engineering firm Leo A Daly, based in Omaha, Neb., in association with SWBR Architects of Rochester, features a two-story atrium that supplies natural light with a north-south orientation, cork flooring and sunflower board cabinetry made with materials from local sources and carpeting that was manufactured with recycled content.

The library is heated and cooled with a geothermal pump system that uses 40 percent less energy than state energy code recommendations, according to designers. The facility also utilizes energy from wind and bio-fuels supplied by Hess Energy.

The system provides additional funding to the college through a matching grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for sustainable design and construction.

On weeknights, the library and its café are open until midnight, which designers say, encourages students to spend time in the coffee shop, reading lounges or by the fireplace.