King Abdullah University first to achieve LEED certification in Saudi Arabia


King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-Platinum certification honoring its eco-friendly credentials.


By achieving the highest of five possible environmental certification award from US Green Building Council’s (USGBC), KAUST has become the first LEED-certified project in Saudi Arabia and the largest LEED-Platinum project in the world.

The university is designed as a living laboratory of environmentally responsible methods of energy use, materials management, and water consumption for buildings in the Middle East and across the globe.

The university has earned 52 of the 53 credits it applied for to achieve Platinum certification. Seven areas of sustainable design were incorporated into the construction of KAUST, including alternative transportation; renewable energy; use of building materials that minimize environmental effects and recycled waste materials; minimization of water and material use through innovative design and on-site treatment plants and recycling programs; energy efficiency measures that reduce total power demand, campus architecture designed to maximize the area's unique microclimate and ecosystem; and the preservation and protection of natural habitats surrounding KAUST.

KAUST is built as an international, graduate-level research university and is the first mixed-sex university in Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities hope that the mixed-sex center will help modernize the kingdom's deeply conservative society.

The campus will be inaugurated on September 24, 2009 and during the occasion a research symposium on ‘Sustainability in a Changing World’ will be presented.








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