University of Oregon Takes the Silver

EUGENE, Ore.-When the University of Oregon was planning for its new Lillis Business Complex, university officials decided to go green. They worked with Portland architectural firm SRG Partnership to come up with innovative ways to achieve LEED certification. One idea was to use daylighting as the main source of interior lighting. The university chose Vistawall Group to help bring that idea to fruition.

The Vistawall Group worked with the architect, general contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis Construction of Portland and glazing contractor Pacific Glass of Renton to create a method for bringing enough daylight into the building. Ultimately, Vistawall found a way to incorporate photovoltaic glass modules into its CW-250 curtainwall system. Wiring harnesses were connected to DC/AC converters and routed back into the building.

The use of daylighting helped the project gain silver LEED status from the United States Green Building Council.