Virginia’s first LEED Platinum Building, of which Draper Aden Associates provided civil engineering, has been selected as the regional Overall Project of the Year by Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine. Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Walter L. Rice Education Building, in Charles City County, Virginia, is part of the Inger & Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences.

The $2.8 million education building opened last October at the Rice Center, VCU’s 343-acre living laboratory on the James River in Charles City County, and houses lecture and laboratory rooms for classes, a conference room and administrative offices. The 4,900-square-foot building features sustainable strategies for efficient energy use, lighting, water and material use.

Draper Aden Associates provided comprehensive surveying and site engineering services for the project including wetlands, environmental impact study and geotechnical engineering. The firm designed an integrated stormwater system which utilizes permeable pavement and bioretention to achieve a higher level of stormwater control and treatment. The building incorporates two 2500-gallon cisterns for rainwater harvesting used to provide water for toilet flushing. One drinking water well and an advanced sewage treatment system were also provided.