Highest ‘green’ certification sought through Rice Center
The Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences is devoted to scientific and public policy education relating to river ecosystems. VCU debuted the $2.6 million building Oct. 15.
The Rice Center was built in pursuance of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification.
The Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences is devoted to scientific and public policy education relating to river ecosystems. VCU debuted the $2.6 million building Oct. 15.
The Rice Center was built in pursuance of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification.
“LEED is a national certification program, providing different levels of certification depending on how ‘green’ the building is,” said Leonard Smock, director of the Rice Center. “Platinum is the highest level. There are no platinum-level buildings in Virginia, so we will be the first.”
LEED ensures the building provides a safe working or living environment and shows the environmental responsibility of a building.
The center is 343 acres of James River-front property located between Williamsburg and Richmond, which was donated to VCU by philanthropist Inger Rice.
Smock says the Rice Center is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, which allow for different types of research projects and educational opportunities.
“The center provides a place where students can examine biological phenomena outdoors, rather than simply in a lab or a textbook or classroom,” Smock said.
The Rice Center Web site lists a history of the property from 6000 B.C. until its donation to VCU in 2000. The site also offers information about the community outreach program, a tool called ‘Virtual Rice Center’ and more.
The Virtual Rice Center offers information on research projects run at the Rice Center.
“This is important for researchers both at VCU and collaborators elsewhere,” Smock said. “In addition, we will be providing real-time data on water and air quality at the Rice Center through our virtual portal.”
The Virtual Rice Center can be accessed online. The center has a community outreach program to aid K-12 teachers from Richmond as well as other parts of the state in educating their students.
For more information on The Rice Center, visit http://www.vcu.edu/rice/
