Yale-New Haven Receives LEED Certification for Smilow Cancer Hospital

The US Green Building Council awarded LEED certification to Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital in November of 2011. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch and completed in 2010, Smilow’s sustainable features include optimum circulation of natural light in its lobbies, corridors and waiting areas; use of occupancy sensors in non-patient spaces; pumps with variable speed drives; and room pressure monitors to reduce power usage for enhanced air supply. In addition, reflective roofs, an exterior sunscreen on the west façade, a high-efficiency unitized curtain wall system, and a terracotta rain screen all work to reduce heat gain in the building. The facility also has upgraded air handling units which provide improved indoor air quality, low-flow water fixtures, low-VOC paints and finishes, easy-to-clean solid surface finishes, and epoxy paints in operating rooms to combat infections effectively. Ninety-seven percent of the construction waste was recycled. With 516,000 sf, Smilow has 14 floors, 168 private patient rooms, 12 operating rooms, radiation therapy, a healing garden, and several integrated imaging technologies.