Quilt Museum celebrates 1st anniversary and green award

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln received its first anniversary gift in the form of the official awarding of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Silver rating for its environmentally sustainable building.

The museum, 1523 N. 33rd St. on UNL's East Campus, will offer free admission 1-4:30 p.m. April 19 to celebrate and will unveil the LEED plaque at a brief ceremony at 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend the event which will include cake and children's activities.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The award is based on points earned for satisfying specific green building criteria. Major areas of achievement for the quilt museum were site selection and preparation, energy performance, recycled content, and indoor environmental quality. The museum is the first university new building to earn a LEED Silver rating. A complete description of the award criteria may be viewed at www.quiltstudy.org.

The museum is also celebrating a successful first year which included the welcoming of nearly 30,000 visitors from all 50 states and more than 25 countries. In the 12 months since the museum opened, staff and volunteers provided hundreds of tours and talks.

The building, financed by private donations made to the University of Nebraska Foundation, was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York and Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, associate architect. Additional project team members include: ME Group (LEED consultant and commissioning agent), Alvine Engineering (mechanical and electrical engineering), Performance Engineering (structural engineering) and Hawkins Construction Company (general contractor).