According to ARC/ Architectural Resources Cambridge, a leading architectural, planning and interior design firm specializing in educational, sports, science and corporate facilities, the $54 million Global Village designed by ARC for the Rochester Institute of Technology, (RIT) has received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The 190,000 s/f campus housing and retail mixed-use complex contains 20,000 s/f of retail space, 12,000 s/f of academic space and 414 student beds in apartment-style housing. RIT's Global Village represents a new concept for a student-oriented undergraduate housing complex that provides a collaborative living and learning community experience outside the classroom. The multiple-building complex is organized around a central plaza designed to promote outdoor activity and foster social interaction and provide a gathering space for students year round. The project has had an overwhelming impact at RIT serving as a new "hub" for the student activities on campus and it is now the preferred housing option for students. To achieve LEED Gold status, buildings must meet rigorous benchmarks in areas such as sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process. Of a total possible 69 points, to achieve Platinum status a building must earn 52-plus points, 39-51 points for Gold status, 33-38 for Silver status, and 26-32 points for certified status. The Global Village received 42 points. The RIT Global Village received 10 points toward LEED certification in the sustainable sites category, encouraging alternative transportation by incorporating bicycle storage and changing room space, as well as 21 preferred parking spaces for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles. The project garnered seven points in the energy and atmosphere category, most notably for achieving a projected 25.1% energy cost savings through a variety of measures such as improved thermal envelope, high-efficiency glazing, reduced interior lighting power density, day-lighting controls, occupancy sensors, reduced exterior lighting power, demand control ventilation, energy recovery and enthalpy economizer control. The campus restaurant was also built with sustainability in mind with a vegetated roof and pavers in the courtyard which were unmortared to help infiltrate stormwater. The RIT Global Village earned six points toward LEED certification in the Materials and Resources department by diverting 75% of on-site construction waste, amounting to 719 tons, from landfills, as well as having nearly a quarter of all construction materials manufactured using recycled material and fully 40% coming from regional (within 500 miles) sources. In the innovation and design process category, ARC's work on the Global Village netted five points, including credit for maximizing open space on the building site. 12 points in the indoor environmental quality category and two points in the water efficiency section round out the points earning LEED Gold certification for the RIT Global Village. "It's quite fitting that a student housing project dedicated to fostering international educational opportunities also would be one that considers one of the most pressing global issues, sustainability," said Robert Quigley, AIA, principal at ARC. "With its new Global Village, the Rochester Institute of Technology clearly is thinking about a better, brighter future for the next generation." Founded in 1969, ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge is a leading architectural, planning and interior design firm specializing in educational, sports, science and corporate facilities. With an emphasis on innovative and sustainable design, the firm has garnered more than 70 awards from a wide range of professional organizations and publications. College and university clients include Tufts, Boston College, Boston University, Duke, Harvard, Johnson & Wales, MIT, Princeton and UMass, among others. ARC also has extensive corporate experience for clients such as Genzyme, Millipore, Abbott Laboratories and VMware.