Green Buildings

UB has been a leader in creating green buildings, working to reduce energy and material usage throughout our facilities, and striving for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. 

Named after Jack Davis (a '55 engineering grad) and his wife Barbara, Davis Hall is designed to exceed the state’s energy efficiency code by 34%. It features an outdoor plaza that includes water efficient landscaping and methods to capture stormwater; a small green roof; waterless urinals; bicycle racks; the use of recycled building materials; and energy efficient HVAC systems.
The LEED silver-certified Center of Excellence Bioinformatics Life Sciences (NYS) is a partner in a unique collaboration with two of WNY’s prominent research institutions: Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute.
UB and Kaleida have partnered to build a facility that houses the CTRC and the Gates Vascular Institute. This LEED gold-certifed facility places clinicians adjacent to clinical and translational researchers and is one of only a handful of such buildings in the nation.
Built in 2003, the village's community center features many "green" design elements that significantly reduce or eliminate negative impacts on the environment and residents. 
Built in 2013, the interior of the LEED Gold-designed facility focuses on transparency and flexible technology in all classrooms, computer labs and student spaces. 
Greiner Hall opened on the North Campus in August 2011. The students living here take pride in its environmentally conscious features, which earned it a LEED gold rating. The building’s architects packed it with innovative surprises, like an irrigation system that draws water from an on-campus lake and laundry room counters made from recycled Tide detergent bottles.
The Hayes Hall renovation is a core component of UB’s leadership in sustainability, both through research and teaching and the development and operation of its own campus. On track for LEED gold certification, Hayes Hall joins nine other LEED-certified facilities at UB, recognized for their best-in-class building strategies and practices. 
The new School of Medicine opened in 2018 achieving LEED Gold. It was built onto of a metroail stop making a greener commute possible. The large windows on the side of the building cut down on lighting costs. 
UB’s GRoW Clean Energy Center is available for use as a tour, meeting and event space for small groups.
The Pharmacy building is UB’s ninth LEED-certified facility. Among key design points cited by the U.S. Green Building Council as enhancing the building’s sustainability:
The renovation of a nearly 120-year-old building on the University at Buffalo’s South Campus has resulted in certification from the most widely used green building rating system in the world. The building is named for Harriet A. Townsend (1839-1916), who founded the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Buffalo in 1884. Townsend scored high marks for community connectivity, accommodations for low emission and fuel efficient vehicles, and public transportation access.
Crosby Hall recently re-opened in the Spring of 2024 for instruction after a renovation project that achieved a LEED Gold Certification.