Posted: Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The University of Evansville’s Fifth Third Bank Basketball Practice Facility has earned top honors for green building in the City of Evansville’s Sustainable Evansville awards.

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke presented the award during the Rotary Club of Evansville’s lunch meeting Tuesday, December 10 at Tropicana Evansville.

The Fifth Third Bank Basketball Practice Facility opened in November 2012 and received LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in June 2013. It is the third LEED certified building on UE’s campus, after the Ridgway University Center and the Schroeder School of Business Building.

PCI Skanska was responsible for the building’s design and Industrial Contractors Skanska oversaw the construction of the new facility. The building was designed to save more than 30% above the energy code requirements. Recycled materials represented 27% of the material cost used to construct the practice facility and 48% was from regional materials. PCI Skanska reduced the facility’s water usage by 77%.

The UE and Skanska team received utility rebates from Vectren and Energizing Indiana for implementing the facility’s energy efficient lighting, heating, ventilation, and cooling systems (HVAC) systems, as well as its white “cool” roof. In addition, Industrial Contractors Skanska was able to secure exemplary credits in the Construction Waste Management category by diverting more than 96% of the construction waste from landfills by recycling and salvage.

The $3.6 million, 25,000 square-foot Fifth Third Bank Basketball Practice Facility includes 19,500 square feet of gym space, men’s and women’s lounges, and offices and storage areas for basketball coaching staff. It is located on the west side of the University’s Carson Center, which houses the offices and facilities of other UE athletic teams, as well as the campus fitness center.

The Sustainable Evansville Awards were created to recognize those who have made important contributions to sustainability during the last two years. The program was open to entities in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey, and Gibson counties. From a pool of nominees, winners were chosen by a panel of experts, each with profound knowledge of Evansville and/or sustainability issues.

In 2011, the inaugural year of the Sustainable Evansville awards, UE also earned an award for water conservation in the Schroeder School of Business Building, the first LEED-certified building on campus and in the City of Evansville.

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