The Green At College Park is the First Certified Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) Landscape

Back last summer we heard word of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/we-interview-head-of-the-sustainable-sites-landscape-rating-system-program-nancy-somerville/">Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES)</a>, a new certification program that would do for landscapes like LEED has done for buildings. The program has just awarded certification of its first landscape to a new park at the University of Texas at Arlington, making it <a href="http://www.sustainablesites.org/cert_projects/" target="_blank">one of the first certified SITES</a>. The Green at College Park was designed by Arlington-based <a href="http://www.sradesign.com/" target="_blank">Schrickel, Rollins and Associates</a> in collaboration with the architect department at UTA. The 2.6-acre park is located on the south side of College Park Center and works to infiltrate stormwater form the surrounding campus, makes use of sustainable materials, efficient lighting and water efficient irrigation. We tracked down the lead project designers and asked them to give us the low down on what it took to get a SITES certification.

The Green at College Park is a sustainable landscape that sits adjacent to the LEED Gold certified College Park Center at UTA.

The arena was designed by HKS Architects, while the surrounding park was designed by Schrickel Rollins with the help of landscape architects and professors from UTA.

The park works to decrease stormwater runoff from the College Park Center.

The park also features the use of locally-sourced building materials, energy efficient lighting, and water efficient irrigation systems and landscape design to reduce potable water use by 63.7%.

Since SITES is still a very new program, we wanted find out more about the standards and the certification.

We tracked down the lead architects and designers to ask them what it was like to get a SITES certification and what they learned from it.

From HKS Architects, we spoke with Ellen Mitchell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, and HKS’s Design Green manager.

Then we heard from the project lead at Schrickel Rollins, Janna Tidwell, R.L.A., ASLA Associate.

And finally we heard from David Hopman, ASLA, PLA Associate Professor and Landscape Architect from the University of Texas at Arlington.

David and a university research associate named Sonal Parmar worked with the architects at Schrickel Rollins to determine how Schrickel Rollins' design of the park fulfilled SITES requirements and compiled the proper documentation of the project.

The Green at College Park is one of three projects to be the first certified landscape under SITES.

The SITES program aims to do for landscapes what LEED has done for buildings.

SITES has collaborated with the USGBC to develop their standards and certification program.