Less than a year after its completion, Kroon Hall has received the highest energy rating possible for sustainable design.

The new home of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies on Science Hill was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit that focuses on sustainable building, on Jan. 28.

[ydn-legacy-photo-inline id=”8467″ ]

[ydn-legacy-photo-inline id=”8468″ ]

Kroon Hall received 59 out of 60 points submitted for LEED approval, a record for Atelier Ten, the third-party consulting company that measured Kroon Hall’s sustainability, said Shanta Tucker, the building’s project manager, in an e-mail message received by the News Friday.

The LEED system provides third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies that improve energy savings, water efficiency and CO2 emissions, according to the U.S. Green Building Council Web site. To achieve platinum status, a building needs to meet standards for at least 52 points in categories such as indoor environmental quality, water efficiency, materials and resources and sustainable sites.

The only point submitted that was not approved was for the building’s lighting, said Patrick Bellew, a visiting professor at the School of Architecture and a founding director at Atelier Ten, in an e-mail received by the News.

“Kroon sets a whole new standard not just for Yale, but way beyond Yale,” said Stephen Kellert, a professor at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. “I’m very, very proud of getting a platinum designation, but I believe we’ve set a higher bar.”

Kroon, which is a carbon-neutral building, has many sustainable features including a highly sophisticated heating system, ground-source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels on the building’s roof and the use of wood brought in from Yale’s sustainable forest, Kellert said.

While LEED certification centers around minimizing adverse effects on the environment, Kroon was designed to not only be low-impact environmentally, but also to create a positive relationship between humans and the natural world, Kellert said. Kroon, with its natural lighting and ventilation and construction from natural materials, is a “biophilic” building that connects humans with nature, Kellert said.

Kroon is the second building on Yale’s campus to receive LEED platinum status; the first was the Sculpture Building on Edgewood Avenue.

Currently, seven other Yale buildings have received LEED certification: the Class of 1954 Chemistry Research Building on Science Hill is LEED Silver; the Malone Center on Prospect Street, Stoeckel Hall, Rudolph Hall and the 10 Amistad St. building have received LEED Gold certification. Two laboratories in the Sterling Hall of Medicine on Cedar Street have also received LEED Gold, as did the renovation of the Brady Memorial Laboratory.