Is the Science Academic Center a sustainable building?

his is a capstone project that looked at if the future Science Academic Center (SAC) being developed at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), fits the criteria to be a sustainable building. The project also looked at if a few of the incorporated sustainable features in the SAC were cost effective for the university, and what kind of sustainable rating the SAC would get. It also determined how the SAC and CSUMB fit into the global scale of sustainable development. To determine if the SAC was a sustainable building, a definition that encompassed several views of sustainable development was created. This was done through literature reviews and personal interview. The cost of the incorporated sustainable features were all calculated and compared to traditional building feature costs. Using the LEED Green Building Rating System guideline a rating of the SAC was done. To determine what is happening on a global scale for sustainable development, two case studies were looked at. The first looked at an environmental studies center being developed in Oberlin College, Ohio and the second study looked at the redevelopment of a square in Athens, Greece. It was found that according to the definition created, the SAC can be considered a sustainable building. It was also found that these studies incorporated sustainable features are more expensive for the building, but are cost effective for the future of the building. The SAC scored a 90% in the sustainable system rating, which gives it a Platinum Level score, the highest allocated. It was also found that through education of its students, CSUMB is promoting the global idea of sustainable development