Three new LEED-Gold certifications bring Vanderbilt total to seven

Vanderbilt University continues to go for the gold with its latest LEED Gold certification of three new residence halls. This brings the total to seven LEED-certified buildings at The Commons, the university’s new campus for first-year students.

A project team of Nashville-based building, design and construction companies worked closely to develop a unique design strategy that considers sustainable policy making and future on-campus growth. The team was led by Street Dixon Rick Architecture PLC, and Vanderbilt’s Campus Planning and Construction department and also included American Constructors, Barge Cauthen Associates Inc., EMC Structural Engineers, SSR, SSRCx, the commissioning subsidiary of Smith Seckman Reid Inc.

“The fact that we exceeded our initial sustainability goals speaks volumes to the tremendous level of commitment on the part of the whole team, first and foremost including Vanderbilt,” said Baird Dixon, principal with Street Dixon Rick Architecture PLC.

“We had a lot of fun researching and exploring new products and materials,” said Dixon. “Because these are student-centered buildings, we tried to incorporate subtle, educational components in terms of the materials we chose.”

The three residence halls designed by Street Dixon Rick Architecture – Stambaugh, Hank Ingram and Murray Houses – total more than 175,000 sq ft and cost approximately $40 million. Two additional residence halls, also designed by Street Dixon Rick Architecture, whose firm provided the Master Plan for The Commons, were already certified at the LEED-Silver level in 2008. These are Crawford and Sutherland Houses.

Renaissance designs $8 million church for Memphis suburb

Renaissance Group, an architectural/engineering firm in Memphis, Tenn., has designed a new church home for Highland Church of Christ in Cordova, Tenn.

The new church will have multiple buildings totaling 68,000 sq ft and includes a walking trail, lake, youth center and basketball court.

Construction should be completed in about 14 months.

The new multipurpose sanctuary will seat approximately 1,000 people and separate buildings will accommodate classrooms for Sunday school and a day school. The youth center will provide flexibility from basketball games to dedicated youth worship services.