The Liberal Arts building of Towson University is the first entirely new academic building of the university. The building is built at the location of the former Lida Lee Tall building.
The building has won the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED silver certification for its environmentally friendly features in energy efficiency and construction. The building has a green roof, 50% of which is covered with plants. The building gained LEED points for recycling 93% waste that accrued from the demolition of the Lida Lee Tall building. The building is powered by TU’s efficient central utility plant. The building has high-performance HVAC system which is infused with automated central controls.
The total area of the building is over 300,000 square feet and comprises of interactive learning spaces; laboratories, specialized classrooms for the departments of family studies, foreign languages, psychology, anthropology and geography; and a writing center; .The building has different size classrooms for accommodating different number of students for better flow between students and faculty.
The construction of the building started in February 2007 and was accomplished in two phases. The total outlay of the project is estimated at $148 million.
