Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has a strong record of creating and implementing environmental initiatives that come from collaboration between faculty, staff and students, facilities teams, and leading professionals in the field. evolve has been a strong partner in these efforts, working with the University since 2004 to be a significant driver of University-wide environmental change.

evolveEA has helped in the design, construction and operation of over one million square feet of facilities renovation and new construction on campus. By providing LEED management services for more than twenty LEED NC and CI projects we have helped standardize energy and water usage savings, emphasized integrated design and construction, furthered healthy materials sourcing, developed green cleaning standards and helped CMU promote their efforts.

evolveEA has also helped CMU develop policies and implementation plans for campus-wide green housekeeping and for construction and demolition waste specifications, and are engaged as a sustainability and urban systems consultant for the University’s 2021-2031 Institutional Masterplan.

“We value evolve’s collaborative approach, detailed understanding of LEED certification, and persistence in securing sustainable results from project teams.”
—Ralph Horgan, Vice Provost

evolveEA LEED certified projects at Carnegie Mellon Main Campus

Select project highlights:

• Institutional Master Plan: CMU’s 2022 Institutional Master Plan (IMP), developed by the university with assistance from evolveEA, Urban Design Associates, and GAI Consultants, enhances the university’s historic campus with high quality public spaces, new and renovated facilities, ecological restoration, and neighborly edges. The IMP illustrates an inclusive, stakeholder-driven, long-term vision based on the university’s mission and values. Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus is organized around three large formal open spaces — the historic Hornbostel Mall, the Cut, and the newly developed Tepper Quad — and our work outlined strategies to strengthen the public spaces on campus. We created a spatial and landscape typology resulting in sustainability strategies, stormwater management integration, transportation and mobility strategies, and a comprehensive tree canopy analysis that led to our development of a tracking tool to measure progress toward reforestation and tree replacement goals. evolveEA’s experience with CMU’s architectural sustainability informed recommendations on building performance, sustainable systems, energy and resource conservation plans.
• Gates Center for Computer Science: evolveEA wrote LEED demolition specifications, leading to the diversion of 99% of demolition waste. evolveEA served as LEED consultant on the project to Arup, the project MEP engineer. Post construction, evolve managed the LEED submission for the project, engaged directly by CMU. LEED Gold certification was achieved for this internationally renowned 210,000 sf $90M signature academic office and classroom building designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects. The building includes many unconventional and challenging features such as materials collisions, extensive roof gardens, and full height glazing on dramatic cantilevers.
• Scott Hall: evolveEA served as Owners Sustainability Representative for this $95M, 106,000 sf LEED Gold building for the Wilton E. Scott Institute, containing offices, lab and research facilities and a 10,000sf clean room.  Key project features include a 13,000 sf green roof, envelope commissioning, and enhanced indoor air quality measures.  evolveEA drove the project team to consider, vet, review and achieve project goals.
• Hamburg Hall: evolveEA managed the LEED submission process for this 3,500 sf, $3.5M project. As the second of four planed phases of work at Hamburg Hall, the project consists of a new addition for classroom auditorium within an existing courtyard, with outdoor patio space on the roof of the new space. Forthcoming phases in this complex project will enclose the courtyard with a glass roof structure, converting the outdoor patio space to an interior one. While the target was LEED Silver certification, the project achieved Gold certification. evolveEA provided goal setting and LEED management.
• Mill 19: Hazelwood Green is a 178 acre riverfront site of a former steel mill in the city of Pittsburgh slated for redevelopment into a high performing mixed-use neighborhood. Mill 19 is a large industrial structure in the center of Hazelwood Green, which contains a series of office buildings and labs for the tech industry and research institutions such as Carnegie Mellon’s Advanced Robotics Manufacturing and its Manufacturing Futures Initiative. evolveEA is part of Carnegie Mellon’s design team for their Mill 19 facilities, assisting with sustainability strategies, managing the LEED CI certification process and guiding the design team in achieving a high level of environmental performance. Hazelwood Green pursuing 2030 Challenge compliance and LEED for Neighborhood Development Certification. Project goals for Carnegie Mellon’s buildings in Mill 19 include Net Zero Energy use, significant water use reduction, and LEED Certification. The project achieved LEED Gold, is the first CMU project to be certified under LEED V4, and was recognized with an AIA COTE Top Ten Award for sustainable design.
• Tepper Quad: evolveEA worked closely with the design team as the Owners Sustainability Representative for the LEED process on this 324,000 sf, $201M project. Designed to house the internationally recognized business school, the award-winning Tepper Quad is the first phase of the University’s new North Campus across Forbes Avenue. The project achieved LEED Gold certification in 2019, and evolveEA was involved since its inception to ensure the implementation of sustainability goals.

Members of evolve have also served on the CMU Green Practices Committee and consulted in service to their efforts, contributing to the strengthening of in-house green capacity and policy development for campus issues such as green landscape practices, sustainable purchasing and other issues, and integrated this work into curriculum for the School of Architecture.

Services provided to Carnegie Mellon University include:

• Campus Planning and Urban Systems Consulting
• LEED Management, New Construction and Commercial Interiors
• Policy Development and Implementation Plans
• Targeted Consulting
• Curriculum Development
• Professional Education