Plant Sciences Building

The Plant Sciences Building is one of NC State’s campus buildings certified for high performance and sustainability.

Gross Square Footage: 185,000

LEED Status: LEED Gold Certified

Date of Completion: April 2022

Project Purpose: Constructed for collaboration, the Plant Sciences Building supports interdisciplinary teams of agricultural researchers representing the College of Engineering, College of Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Wilson College of Textiles and the Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center.

Sustainability Features:

The Plant Sciences Building features advanced energy metering, highly efficient lighting and automated window shades, efficient central cooling and cogeneration plants, enhanced airside energy recovery and de-coupled heating and cooling systems that when combined have demonstrated a modeled energy cost savings of 49%.

The high-performance technologies incorporated into the building envelope design also contribute to energy savings – an improvement of 20 percent over code. These strategies work to reduce the amount of solar energy entering the building and directly contribute to occupant comfort, natural daylight exposure, improved ventilation and reduced energy consumption for heating and cooling.

The Plant Sciences Building also boasts

  • A series of bioretention cells and landscaping to capture, treat and slow runoff from the building during rain events
  • Reduced water consumption through the use of high-efficiency plumbing fixtures
  • Use of reclaimed water for irrigation and toilet flushing
  • Light-colored nonroof measures and high-reflectance roofs to reduce heat island effects
  • Access to recycling and composting collection bins throughout the building 
  • Enhanced indoor air quality strategies, including advanced commissioning to ensure systems perform as designed
  • Construction practices that incorporated products and materials with environmentally, economically and socially preferable life-cycle impacts
  • Access to the Oval, a large open outdoor space next to the building
  • Access to the Wolfline campus bus system plus infrastructure to support biking as a mode of transportation is available for building occupants
  • Receiving the inaugural Novel 20 Award from the U.S. Department of Energy that celebrates building envelope high-performance for new construction projects