Penn State University, Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building Achieves LEED Gold

The Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building represents a major investment in the future of teaching, research, and collaboration at Penn State. The six-story, approximately 143,000-square-foot facility is the first new liberal arts building constructed at University Park in nearly 50 years and brings together academic departments, research institutes, classrooms, laboratories, and collaborative spaces within a high-performance new home for the College of the Liberal Arts.

evolveEA served as sustainability consultant, guiding the project team through the rigorous requirements of LEED certification and supporting the building’s achievement of LEED Gold. Working across disciplines, evolveEA helped integrate sustainability and building performance goals into the design and construction process, coordinating certification requirements, tracking credits and documentation, and supporting strategies related to energy and water efficiency, materials, indoor environmental quality, site performance, and occupant well-being.

The resulting building demonstrates how sustainability can reinforce an academic institution’s broader mission. High-performance strategies reduce resource consumption and long-term operating impacts while creating healthier, more comfortable spaces for students, faculty, researchers, and visitors. Through its LEED Gold certification, the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building provides a visible example of Penn State’s continued commitment to environmental stewardship, operational performance, and a more sustainable campus.