Building Standards to Minimize Water Use

The Lebanese American University (LAU) prioritizes adaptive and water-efficient building standards whenever feasible. Renovation projects are designed to achieve high performance, particularly in terms of energy and water conservation. Water-saving devices have been tested in offices and dormitories and subsequently implemented across multiple buildings, resulting in approximately 29% water savings. A comprehensive survey of all water fixtures on the Byblos campus has been conducted, and a master plan is currently being developed to identify and implement additional water conservation measures.

LAU’s is committed to developing sustainable buildings that reduce resource consumption while protecting the environment and providing a high indoor environmental quality. Increasingly, building projects involve certifying buildings by means of green building rating systems, thus obtaining recognition and creating further awareness.

These certifications include LEED and EDGE:

LEED Certification and Water Usage Standards

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), includes a focus on water efficiency within its rating system. Key water-related standards in LEED address indoor and outdoor water use, specialized uses, and whole-building metering. LEED encourages:

• Reduction of potable water consumption through efficient plumbing fixtures, fittings, and alternative water sources (e.g., graywater or rainwater).
• Monitoring of water use through building-level water metering to identify savings opportunities.
• Reuse of water, such as reclaimed wastewater, for non-potable purposes like irrigation or flushing​

EDGE Certification and Water Efficiency:

The Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) certification, administered by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), aims to reduce water and energy consumption in buildings. EDGE certification targets:

• Minimum water savings of 20% through strategies like efficient faucets, low-flow showers, and optimized irrigation.
• Incorporating systems like rainwater harvesting or recycled water for landscaping.

Learn more about EDGE standards on the IFC EDGE platform.

Both certifications promote sustainability by addressing water use holistically, integrating efficiency into building design and operation.

Accordingly, LAU secured one LEED and two EDGE certifications for three of its buildings:

• The Library & Central Administration is LEED certified (https://www.usgbc.org/projects/j-jabbra-library-r-nassar-ca-bldg?view=scorecard).
• The Tohme Rizk Building is EDGE certified (https://edgebuildings.com/project-studies/tohme-rizk-office-building/). feature measures such as rain water harvesting and reuse, condensate reuse, low flow sanitary fixtures, efficient and smart irrigation, etc.
• Gezairi School of Architecture is EDGE certified (https://fm.lau.edu.lb/physical-facilities/buildings-grounds/buildings/beirut/gezairi-building.php); feature measures such as rain water harvesting and reuse, condensate reuse, low flow sanitary fixtures, efficient and smart irrigation, etc.

Sustainable Design and Construction

Green Building Certification

We are committed to developing sustainable buildings that reduce resource consumption while protecting the environment and providing a high indoor environmental quality. Increasingly, our building projects involve certifying our buildings by means of green building rating systems, thus obtaining recognition and creating further awareness.

On the Byblos campus, two buildings have recently followed this path:

The Library and Riyad Nassar Central Administration buildings were being constructed with USGBC’s LEED gold certification in mind.

The Tohme-Rizk building in Byblos has obtained the International Finance Corporation’s EDGE certification, becoming the first EDGE certified office building in Lebanon (PDF - 0.7MB). This will will result in reductions of 41 percent in energy, 29 percent in water, and 34 percent in materials’ embodied energy compared to local benchmarks. It will reduce, at no additional capital cost, utility expenses for the building by around $600 each month, in addition to saving the environment 21 tCO₂ per year.

High Performance Renovations

We aim at transforming LAU’s campuses into high performance facilities, one project at a time, without necessitating large budgets for the retrofitting or replacement of inefficient installations. For example:

• Byblos’ Architecture L1 renovation was designed and is being executed with energy conservation features.
• Beirut’s Wadad Sabbagh Khoury Student Center renovation was designed and executed with water and energy conservation features.

Green Design Guidelines

We are in the process of establishing guidelines for green criteria/systems to be adopted in all of our designs. These would consist of solutions that are most relevant to our culture and to our university’s context, most technically appropriate to each building type, and most financially feasible. We are currently identifying the appropriate systems and will launch this initiative in 2016.

Predicted Savings of EDGE Certification

^*Part of the energy efficiency percentage may be associated with virtual energy for comfort depending on the presence of heating and cooling systems. Note that virtual energy does not contribute savings to utility bills.

Technical Solutions

Energy

Reduced window to wall ratio; external shading; air conditioning with air-cooled chiller and a high COP; variable speed drives pumps; and an energy-efficient lighting system.

Water

Low-flow faucets and dual flush water closets.

Materials

Concrete filler slabs for floors and solid dense concrete blocks for walls.

J Jabbra Library & R Nassar CA BLDG.

https://www.usgbc.org/projects/j-jabbra-library-r-nassar-ca-bldg?view=overview

Address: Blat, Byblos, Lebanon, 0000
Rating system: LEED BD+C: New Constructionv3 - LEED 2009
Last certified on: June 25, 2020
Certification level: Gold
Points: 74
Size: 83,403 sq ft

Gezairi Building

LAU expanded its facilities with the acquisition of the Gezairi Building, a purchased complex that underwent a major renovation completed in Summer 2021. Located in Sadat Street, it provides needed spaces aligned with the University’s academic programs growth and is the home of the School of Architecture and Design, with a built-up area of 18,932.4 m².

Another Sustainable LAU Facility

Gezairi building has already achieved a preliminary sustainability EDGE certification (Excellence for Design and Greater Efficiencies) and is currently in the final audit phase; it has successfully achieved the following:

• 28% in Energy Savings
• 24% in Water Savings
• 27% Less Embodied Energy in Materials

Other water usage minimization initiatives:

Measure It to Manage It

A metering plan is underway for the whole university to establish benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for continuous resource monitoring and management.

Pilot projects are underway at the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury Health Sciences Center and the Tohme-Rizk Building in Byblos, as well as the Adnan Kassar School of Business and Wadad Sabbagh Khoury Student Center in Beirut.

Water Efficiency and Re-use

We are implementing projects to reduce water consumption, harvest rain water and recycle water for irrigation.

• We have tested water saving devices in offices and dorms and implemented the same at the Tohme-Rizk building in Byblos as a pilot project, achieving savings of around 29 percent.
• Our Byblos campus features wastewater treatment plants. Treated water is being reused for irrigation, which will be further increased with the upcoming Byblos infrastructure project.
• The Byblos Library and Riyad Nassar Central Administration project features rain water harvesting and reuse.
• The Byblos Library and Riyad Nassar Central Administration project has been designed with low flow sanitary fixtures, achieving 35 percent water use reduction.
• We have surveyed all the water fixture types on the Byblos campus and are currently drafting a master plan to determine and implement possible further water saving measures.

Certify Your Space (initiative in progress)

We invite all departments, offices and units to implement sustainable practices into your day-to-day operations. This will motivate and engage participating staff to lower waste and consumption habits, improving their overall environmental performance while saving energy and water and reducing costs. 

The Physical Plant will recognize your work by certification, installing a plaque at your office in recognition of your achievement. We will also list your office online on LAU’s list of certified green offices.

Water Consumption Figures