Lauer-Manguso designs energy-efficient certified Creekside Community Ctr. at University of Buffalo

Lauer-Manguso & Associates Architects led the LEED movement in NYS with the design of UB's Creekside Village Community Center, which has become a study in energy efficiency. This University of Buffalo energy-efficient certified building contains a student lounge, offices, maintenance, and a mall center. Michael Terranova, A.I.A. of Lauer-Manguso, one of the designers for the building, said, "Green buildings will usually cost more initially to build, but over the life of a building the operations costs are lower. It's not just the construction costs to consider, there is also a cost to get the building certified." The center features environmentally friendly materials (many of which include recycled content), non-chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which affect the ozone layer, refrigerants in the air conditioning system, and low-volatile organic compounds (VOC) coatings for the walls and floors. For energy conservation, setting them low into earth berms insulated some walls, a decorative indoor pond contributes indoor humidity, and the sun powers much of the outdoor lighting. Special controls turn off the electric lights when no one is in a room and the lights can be adjusted to the amount of light available so that natural light can be better utilized. "Some energy-efficient buildings emphasize electrical savings while others concentrate on heating savings, so the initial costs vary from project to project," Terranova said. "The Creekside Village Community Center is a combination of both." Creekside Village features 13 two-story buildings with 102 two-bedroom townhouses and 14 ranch-style units located at the north edge of the University of Buffalo Amherst campus. This green community center provides a beautiful and peaceful environment for study, privacy, and the stimulation of a community of shared interests. The LEED green building rating system is a voluntary, consensus-basded national standard for developing high-performance sustainable buildings. Lauer-Manguso is licensed to practice in 22 states and represents architecture, interior design, site planning, devil engineering, structural engineering, industrial design, feasibility studies, conditions studies, master planning, construction administration, landscape design, code consultant, expert witness, 3-D computer animation/modeling areas of practice.