Best Higher Ed Innovator

University of Texas at Dallas

UT Dallas was the winner of this year’s Innovation in Green Building Award for their LEED Platinum Student Services Building.

• The Student Services Building was built $1.1 million under budget, and is designed to serve as a “one-stop-shop” destination for all student service activities, housing 14 departments under one roof.  


• The most notable characteristics of the building are the “floating” terra-cotta shades on the building’s exterior, which respond to the solar exposure and provide a unique energy efficient shading strategy. 


• The building has an annual electrical savings of $60,000, and 63 percent improvements in operating costs over average buildings on campus. 76 percent of all occupied spaces in the building have natural daylight, and 93 percent have views to the outside.

Photo Credit: University of Texas at Dallas