The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami has announced receipt of its LEED Platinum Certification for the Patricia Louis Frost Music classroom/studios north and south complex at its Coral Gables campus. These are the first buildings in Coral Gables to receive the highest-level of LEED certification.
The design goals were to create a highly sustainable facility that would serve over 770 music students and 125 faculty within the Frost School of Music campus. In this, the University wanted to provide an upscale space with superior, state‐of‐the art facilities for teaching, learning, performing and recording music.
Frost School of Music (Platinum) 47,000 GSF Sustainable Highlights:
• First PV system;
• Lighting, power and comfort systems are designed to save over 50 percent in energy;
• Electrochromic windows control daylight and reduce glare and solar heat gain;
• Rooftop rainfall is captured in on‐site cisterns for graywater uses inside buildings;
• Rooftop photovoltaic solar power;
• Landscaping irrigation system was designed to reduce water use;
• Indoor fixtures and fittings, and
• High usage of regional materials and recycled materials.
“The Patricia Louise Frost Studios have transformed the life and culture of the Frost School of Music. The 80-plus spaces are the best possible environment for music teaching, learning, and collaboration. We are thrilled that this facility leads the way in sustainability,” said Dean Shelly Berg of the Frost School of Music.
The 41,000‐square-foot project features two sleek buildings with a reception center and furnished breezeway terrace. It adds a new grand entrance, highlighted by prominent structures, to act as a gateway and define the edge of the Frost School of Music campus.
The buildings sport two extra‐large rehearsal halls plus 77 spacious chamber music and teaching studios. Designed with careful attention to acoustical requirements, each room is a “floating box” within a box; no two rooms share walls, floors or ceilings. This structural independence creates an acoustical isolation, allowing students to learn, practice, perform and record without interference from other artists practicing in the next room.
“As design director of the architectural team, I am delighted that the studios achieved Platinum Certification,” said Yann Weymouth, formerly of HOK Architects. “We used every strategy and cutting-edge tool at our disposal to maximize efficiency, minimize energy and optimize comfort. “Spaces are filled with glare-free natural light to easily read musical scores, using electrochromic glass windows which dim automatically in direct sunlight to cut solar heat load — a first-use in the Southeast. Artificial lighting is from efficient LEDs, which only turn on when light falls below a preset level. The extremely efficient chilled-beam air-conditioning significantly economizes further electricity,” Weymouth added.
“In 2016, the Coral Gables City Commission passed a Green Building Ordinance to encourage sustainable and construction best practices, said Commissioner Vince Lago, a leader in sustainable practices in local government. “We are thankful to the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami for their leadership in recognizing the importance of environmentally friendly initiatives and for their ongoing commitment to partner with us in the betterment of our community.”
For more information, visit www.music.miami.edu.
