Buildings and Infrastructure
Creating efficient, resilient and high-performing places for learning, research and campus life
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï operates a diverse portfolio of historic buildings, research facilities, residence halls, classrooms, dining facilities, recreation spaces and other places that support the university’s mission.
Across Main Campus, East Campus and Williams Village, the university manages more than 370 buildings and approximately 13 million square feet of space (for comparison, the City of °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï has roughly 32 million square feet of office, commercial and industrial floor area). Supporting those buildings is an extensive network of energy and utility infrastructure that provides heating, cooling, electricity and water across campus.Ìý
Buildings and infrastructure are closely connected. Buildings represent the majority of campus demand for heating, cooling and electricity, while their design and operation also affect water use, materials, indoor environments and long-term operating needs.
As CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï renews existing facilities and develops new ones, the university is working to improve building performance, reduce construction impacts, and prepare campus facilities for a changing energy system.
Buildings at a Glance
- 370+ buildings | ~13M sq. ft.
- 39 | Historically LEED-certified projectsÌý
- 11 | LEED Platinum projectsÌý
- 25 | LEED Gold projectsÌý
Why Buildings Matter
ÌýÌýClimate & Energy
Buildings represent the majority of campus demand for heating, cooling and electricity. Improving building efficiency and changing how buildings are heated are important parts of reducing campus emissions.
ÌýÌýMaterials & Embodied Carbon
Construction requires significant quantities of concrete, steel, wood and other materials. Reusing existing structures and materials and selecting lower-carbon alternatives can reduce those impacts.
ÌýÌýWater
Plumbing, cooling, laboratories and other building systems influence campus water demand. Efficient fixtures, equipment and building systems can reduce consumption.
ÌýÌýHealth & Well-Being
Ventilation, indoor air quality, daylight, thermal comfort, acoustics and accessibility influence how people experience campus buildings.
ÌýÌýResilience & Reliability
Adaptable buildings and reliable utility systems help campus continue operating as conditions and needs change.
ÌýÌýSpace & Stewardship
Maintaining, renovating and making effective use of existing buildings can extend their useful lives and reduce the need for additional construction.
Overall Approach to Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure
To address these challenges, CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï takes a multipronged approach that combines new construction standards, major renovations, energy system modernization, ongoing efficiency improvements and better use of existing space.
Our first goal is to make sure new buildings are durable, minimize or eliminate operational and embodied carbon, and meet best practices for healthy interiors, water efficiency, and material use. We achieve this by adhering to our Buildings Decarbonization Standard, achieving LEED Gold certification or higher, and following our own internal building sustainability guidelines.ÌýÌý
Because we have so many older buildings, spanning ages of over 100 years, and because our existing buildings tend to have significantly higher energy use intensity (EUI) than our new buildings, undertaking renovation projects to bring these buildings up to current standards in terms of amenities, comfort, accessibility, controllability, and energy and water performance, is an ongoing priority.Ìý
While scope and design may vary with each renovation, our playbook typically includes:
- Converting from steam to hot water, effectively prepping the building to be compatible with our future zero carbon district energy system.
- Adding air conditioning in those buildings that were designed without it.
- Improving windows and building envelope to reduce loads and increase comfort
- District Energy Infrastructure - Modernizing the Systems that Serve Campus Buildings
To decarbonize campus, we will ultimately need to decarbonize the central plants which service main campus, Will Vill, and eventually, East Campus. These plants currently provide steam heat from natural gas, and our plan is to shift this source of energy to electricity or some other renewable source, such asÌýdeep geothermal.Ìý
As of fall 2026, this work is focused on evaluating evolving technology, infrastructure requirements, cost, reliability and campus impacts to determine a practical pathway for reducing emissions while continuing to meet campus heating and cooling needs.
While the big projects get most of the attention, we nevertheless want to identify and take on any projects that represent improved operational energy efficiency and performance at our existing buildings.Ìý
These efforts tend to include optimizing building controls, upgrading lighting, improving steam-system performance, reducing water use and replacing aging HVAC equipment with higher-efficiency systems. Together, these smaller-scale improvements help reduce energy and water use, improve building performance and extend the life of existing systems between major capital projects.
As work patterns have changed, CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï is looking at how existing space is being used and how it can be used more efficiently. Better space utilization can reduce the energy needed to heat, cool and maintain underused areas while also helping limit the need to construct new buildings.
Current pilots in the Regent Administrative Center and the University Administrative Center, as well as Research Laboratory 2 are using occupancy data to better understand how often spaces are used and identify opportunities to make better use of existing buildings. These efforts can help inform broader campus-wide approaches to space optimization over time.
Setting Higher Standards for Campus Buildings
Major new construction at CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï is subject to the State of Colorado’s High Performance Certification Program, which requires qualifying projects to achieve a high-performance building certification such as LEED. Projects also follow applicable Buy Clean Colorado requirements for lower-embodied-carbon construction materials.
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï builds on these requirements by targeting deep energy efficiency and additional reductions in embodied carbon and is developing campus-specific standards to further align new construction with the university's long-term emissions goals.
Building Decarbonization Standard
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï is developing a Low-Carbon New Building Standard to establish clearer expectations for reducing both the operational and embodied carbon of new construction and major building projects.
The draft standard would address both operational and embodied carbon, including:
- All-electric or central-plant-aligned building systems
- Energy performance beyond minimum code requirements
- Whole-building life-cycle assessment to evaluate embodied carbon
- Lower-global-warming-potential refrigerants
- Evaluation of on-site solar and energy storage
- Lower-carbon construction materials and material-reuse strategies
Because the standard is still under development, these represent proposed requirements rather than current requirements.
Other Standards That Shape Campus Projects -
Owner’s Project Requirements
Owner’s Project Requirements establish project-specific expectations for building systems, performance, operations and occupant needs, helping carry university priorities through design and construction.
Facilities Standards
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s Facilities Standards establish campus-specific requirements for architects, engineers and contractors and address the long-term performance, maintenance and ownership of university facilities.
LEED
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï has used LEED as part of its sustainable-building approach for more than two decades. Qualifying state-funded construction projects are subject to Colorado's high-performance building requirements, and CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï generally targets LEED Gold or higher for major projects.
The university has historically completed 39 LEED-certified projects, including 11 Platinum and 25 Gold projects.
Buy Clean & Lower-Carbon Materials
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï is also addressing the emissions associated with the materials used to construct buildings. Qualifying projects follow Buy Clean Colorado requirements, which establish embodied-carbon requirements for specified construction materials.
Beyond those requirements, CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï is using strategies such as whole-building life-cycle assessment, mass timber, material reuse, and lower-carbon concrete and steel to identify opportunities for deeper reductions in construction-related emissions.
Renewing the Buildings We Already Have
Standards shape how new and major building projects are designed, but much of CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s future building portfolio already exists. Major renovations and targeted efficiency projects provide opportunities to improve the performance of those facilities while extending their useful lives and preparing them for changing campus needs and energy systems.
Major Renovation Spotlight: Hellems Arts & SciencesÌý
Preserving a historic building while transforming its performance
Originally constructed in 1921 with additions in 1938, Hellems demonstrates how CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï can modernize an existing building while preserving its architectural character and substantially improving energy performance, accessibility and the student experience.
Hellems Sustainability Highlights:
~68% projected reduction in energy use intensity
The renovation was designed to substantially reduce Hellems' EUI even while adding cooling.
High-performance envelope
Triple-pane windows, additional wall and roof insulation, air sealing and a more efficient HVAC system reduce heating and cooling demand.
Historic material reuse
More than 80% of the original clay roof tiles were reused, while existing hardwood floors, terrazzo and other historic materials were refurbished rather than replaced.
Ready for future campus energy systems
Mechanical systems were designed to accommodate CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s planned transition toward lower-temperature hot-water heating.
Better indoor environments
New lighting, skylights, ventilation and redesigned spaces improve daylight, comfort and indoor environmental quality.
Accessibility & student experience
The renovation expanded accessible entrances, improved wayfinding and daylight, and added all-user restrooms and student-oriented spaces.
Pursuing LEED Gold
Improving Buildings Through Targeted Efficiency
Major renovations are only one way to improve existing buildings. CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï also uses targeted efficiency projects to reduce energy and water use, improve building systems and lower operating costs across the campus portfolio.
A current initiative across 18 Main Campus buildings includes:
- LED lighting and lighting controls
- Building-controls optimization
- Steam-trap replacement
- Low-flow water fixtures
- Occupant engagement and education
The initiative is projected to deliver $352,000 in annual utility savings, $25,000 in additional operational savings and 2,226 metric tons of annual COâ‚‚ reductions.
Designing New Buildings Differently
New construction provides an opportunity to reduce energy use and emissions from the beginning. CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s approach combines high energy performance, lower-carbon materials and building systems designed around the university’s long-term energy transition.
How that transition occurs depends partly on where a building is located. New buildings served by campus district energy systems are designed to align with the planned transition toward lower-temperature, lower-carbon thermal energy. Buildings outside those systems can instead use all-electric heating, cooling and other building systems, allowing their operational emissions to decline as Colorado’s electricity supply becomes cleaner.
Major projects also target LEED Gold or higher and incorporate applicable state high-performance and Buy Clean requirements, while CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï is developing additional campus-specific decarbonization standards.
New Building Spotlight: Chemistry & Applied Mathematics Facility
Reducing the impact of an energy-intensive building type
Research laboratories can be among the most energy- and water-intensive spaces on a university campus because of their ventilation requirements, equipment and specialized systems. The new Chemistry & Applied Mathematics Facility is being designed to reduce those impacts while supporting chemistry, mathematics and quantum research.
Current project analysis projects more than 40% improved energy performance and approximately 28% lower water use compared with the project baseline. Its anticipated EUI is approximately 99 kBtu/sf/year, compared with approximately 218 for the existing Cristol Chemistry building.
The project is also addressing the carbon associated with construction itself. CHAP incorporates mass timber and is targeting a substantial reduction in embodied carbon compared with a conventional construction baseline. The building is being designed for future lower-temperature hot-water service and is pursuing LEED Gold.
Code Talker Hall
Electrifying new campus housing
Opened in 2026, the 129,000-square-foot Code Talker Hall demonstrates how electrification can be incorporated into new campus housing.
The building has no natural gas service, uses all-electric apartment kitchens and includes CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s first all-electric food-service facilities. It is also targeting LEED Gold.
Code Talker connects to CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s evolving district energy system, demonstrating how new buildings and campus infrastructure can be planned together.
Indoor Practice Facility
Producing as much energy as used
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s Indoor Practice Facility is the first net-zero-energy athletics facility in the NCAA and is LEED Platinum certified.
Its 850-kilowatt rooftop solar array produces more than 1 million kWh annually, supported by efficient mechanical, lighting and water systems.
Extending Building Expectations to Campus Partnerships
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s building sustainability goals can also shape projects developed on university land through partnerships with private developers. The Limelight °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï hotel, developed on CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï property, was designed as an all-electric building, eliminating on-site natural gas combustion for normal building operations.
Improving the Performance of Research Laboratories
Research laboratories are an important focus for building performance because of their intensive ventilation, equipment, water and operational needs. While research buildings occupy roughly 20% of campus building space, they account for about 40% of campus building energy use.
Through CU Green Labs, researchers and campus partners work to reduce these impacts through equipment efficiency and sharing, freezer management, water conservation, and improved material and chemical management.
From 2009–2025, Green Labs reports:
- 16.25 million kWh | Electricity saved
- 81 million gallons | Water saved
- 625,000 lbs | Lab waste diverted
- 3,690 gallons | Solvents reused
- $3 million | Equipment purchases avoided through sharing
These efforts complement improvements to laboratory buildings and systems by addressing how energy, water, equipment and materials are used within research spaces
Buildings and Campus Energy Have to Change Together
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s buildings and energy infrastructure function as one connected system, which means decarbonizing campus requires changes to both.
Much of Main Campus and Williams Village relies on district energy. Buildings connected to these systems must be designed or renovated to operate efficiently as campus thermal infrastructure evolves, including the planned transition away from traditional steam toward lower-temperature hot-water distribution. Buildings outside district energy networks can increasingly rely on all-electric systems and benefit directly as Colorado’s electric grid becomes cleaner.
CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï is therefore working on both sides of the system: modernizing the infrastructure that supplies energy while designing and renovating buildings to operate efficiently with lower-carbon energy sources.
Hellems, CHAP and Code Talker Hall demonstrate different pieces of that transition—from preparing an existing historic building for lower-temperature heating to designing new facilities around electrification and evolving district energy infrastructure.
Building Data & Performance
Tracking building performance helps CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï identify where energy and water are being used, evaluate improvements over time and prioritize future projects.