In 2005, the McGowan Institute Laboratory Building on Carson Street in the South Side became the first lab building in Pennsylvania to receive the gold LEED rating for sustainable design and construction. The building houses office and laboratory space for more than 100 scientists, researchers, and staff developing such cutting-edge medical devices as artificial hearts and lungs.
Its many green features include reuse of a former industrial brownfield, an underground rainwater collection system used for toilet flushing and drip irrigation, state-of-the-art heat recovery systems to reduce energy use and increase the efficiency of outside air spaces, and use of a large volume of locally manufactured or fabricated materials.
LEED Gold certification, 2005.