University of Wisconsin-Madison recognized for green innovation

News release: The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been named the winner of the 2012 Innovation in Green Building Award. The honor, from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), recognizes a higher-education institution that is transforming the built environment.

“We are committed at UW–Madison to increasing our sustainability as a campus and as a community, and we are so pleased that our integrated team effort on sustainability for this project has been so successful,” ” says Angela Pakes Ahlman, external relations coordinator for the UW-Madison Office of Sustainability.

Wisconsin received the award for its innovative work on the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a research facility that houses twin interdisciplinary institutes, the private, non-profit Morgridge Institute for Research and the university’s Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, along with a public space for science that spans the main floor. This building is designed to foster collaboration and innovation among all researchers and building occupants, and contribute to its mission of accelerating new knowledge and improving human health and well-being. The building

includes interactive displays and civic spaces, three teaching labs for educational outreach, offices, research support areas and core research facilities.

“The University of Wisconsin-Madison is trailblazing the type of innovative partnerships the higher education community needs to transform the built environment,” says Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools.

Paul Rowland, executive director of AASHE, adds: “Sustainability in higher education continues to gain momentum and projects like these continue to raise the bar.”