UNM Hospital Critical Care Tower Achieves LEED Gold Certification

Photo Credit: Matt O.

We're excited to celebrate the University of New Mexico Hospital's recent achievement of LEED Gold certification for the Critical Care Tower—a milestone that reflects years of planning, collaboration, and commitment to sustainable healthcare design.

The accomplishment is especially significant because the Critical Care Tower is part of New Mexico's only Level I Trauma Center, supporting some of the state's most critical healthcare needs. Achieving LEED Gold within a facility of this scale and complexity demonstrates that high-performance design and mission-critical healthcare can go hand in hand.

The project also represents an important milestone for New Mexico's healthcare market as the first LEED v4 Gold-certified healthcare project in the state and one of only a handful of LEED-certified healthcare facilities throughout New Mexico.

At approximately 684,000 square feet, the Critical Care Tower was designed to support world-class patient care while balancing resiliency, operational reliability, energy efficiency, and environmental stewardship.

Sustainability in a Mission-Critical Environment

Photo Credit: Matt O.

Healthcare facilities are among the most complex buildings to design, construct, and operate.

Unlike many building types, hospitals must function continuously, maintain redundant life-safety systems, and provide highly controlled environments for patient care. For a Level I Trauma Center, reliability is not simply a goal—it's a requirement.

That's what makes this achievement particularly meaningful. The Critical Care Tower demonstrates that sustainability and resiliency are not competing priorities. In healthcare, they can reinforce one another, supporting operational efficiency while creating healthier environments for patients, visitors, and staff.

The building delivers impressive performance outcomes, including:

• More than 2 million gallons of interior water savings annually

• More than 1.9 million gallons of exterior water savings annually

• Nearly 6 million kWh of energy savings each year

• More than 3,400 metric tons of CO₂ emissions avoided annually

• Diversion of over 81% of construction waste from landfills

  
  

These outcomes contribute not only to environmental stewardship, but also to long-term operational savings and community health.

Supporting UNMH's Vision

Verdacity was honored to support UNM Hospital throughout the LEED certification process, working alongside Broaddus & Associates and the broader project team from an owner's representative perspective.

Our role focused on helping navigate certification requirements, aligning sustainability goals with project objectives, and documenting the performance outcomes that ultimately contributed to certification success.

This achievement was made possible through the efforts of a highly collaborative team that included Broaddus & Associates, HDR, AECOM, FBT, UNM Hospital leadership, and numerous LEED Accredited Professionals who helped guide the project from planning through certification. Achieving LEED Gold on a healthcare facility of this scale required a shared commitment to performance, resiliency, and long-term value.

Projects like the Critical Care Tower reinforce an important lesson: sustainability outcomes don't happen accidentally. They require clear goals, early planning, dedicated leadership, and collaboration among owners, designers, builders, and operators.

A Healthier Future for New Mexico

Hospitals are fundamentally about health, healing, and community well-being. Sustainable healthcare facilities build upon that mission by supporting healthier indoor environments, reducing resource consumption, and improving long-term resilience.

The Critical Care Tower also demonstrates that sustainable design is a fiscally responsible investment. Energy and water savings reduce operating costs year after year, allowing public institutions to direct more resources toward their core mission of serving patients and communities.

UNM Hospital's decision to pursue LEED Gold—exceeding the LEED Silver requirement established by New Mexico's Green Building Executive Order—reflects a commitment to maximizing the long-term value of taxpayer investments while creating a facility that supports patient care, staff well-being, and environmental responsibility.

For a facility that serves as New Mexico's only Level I Trauma Center, those benefits extend well beyond the building itself. They support patients, healthcare workers, families, and communities across the state.

We're proud to have supported UNM Hospital, Broaddus & Associates, HDR, AECOM, FBT, and the broader project team in achieving this milestone, and we congratulate everyone involved on this well-deserved recognition.

Photo Credit: Matt O.

Call to Action

Interested in pursuing LEED certification or integrating sustainability goals into your next project?

Verdacity can help navigate the process and identify opportunities to create meaningful, measurable impact.