The Global Village at RIT is LEED gold.Rochester, N.Y. — The Rochester Institute of Technology's Global Village has received LEED gold certification. The $54 million building designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge is a 190,000-square-foot housing and retail mixed-use complex with 20,000 square feet of retail space, 12,000 square feet of academic space and 414 beds in apartment style housing.

When it opened in 2010, the residence hall received attention for customizing living quarters to the programmatic goal of international diversity. The housing features amenities to help foreign students feel at home, while preparing other students for time abroad.

Now, the building's in the limelight for its sustainability features. These include bicycle storage and changing room space, as well as 21 preferred parking spaces for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles, reduced power needed for exterior lighting, energy recovery and enthalpy economizer control. The campus restaurant was also built with sustainability in mind with a vegetated roof and pavers in the courtyard that were unmortared to help infiltrate stormwater.