FIRST LEED Structure on the University of North Texas Campus - Denton, TX - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Masters Hall was built in 1951 where the north part of the Life Sciences Complex now stands. Originally housing both the biology and chemistry departments, it was named for W.N. Masters, head of the chemistry program from 1910 to 1941. One of the cartouches that decorated the three-story building -- which featured an Egyptian main doorway -- sits at the northeast corner of the Life Sciences Complex. Masters Hall was renamed the Chemistry Building in 1967 after the Biology Building, now the south part of the complex, was erected next door. Students moving to Masters Hall from the crowded 1910 Science Building remember the luxurious new lecture hall complete with movie projection booth and raised seating. Other modern facilities included bacteriology, zoology, embryology, botany and chemistry labs. Faculty members researched municipal water quality, antibiotics and anti-tubercular drugs. Although the Texas Legislature had appropriated money to build Masters Hall in 1941, the project was canceled during the war. The facilities department hailed the completed building as "the long-delayed fulfillment of the hopes and aspirations and needs" of the biology and chemistry departments. The Campus Chat newspaper called it simply "the scientist's dream." In 2004, the chemistry department moved to the new Chemistry Building on the corner of Mulberry Street and Avenue C. In 2008, Masters Hall was torn down to make way for the Life Sciences Complex, the first structure on campus to be LEED certified for green building design.

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UNT's own website (see below) describes the Life Sciences Complex as a "world-class research and teaching facility for biochemistry and molecular biology, developmental physiology and genetics, and plant science." The complex is comprised of two buildings bridged by a corridor at the ground level. Overall, there is more than 176,000 square feet of space devoted to state-of-the-art labs, classrooms, offices, meeting rooms, and communal spaces. The B wing likewise is a state-of-the-art facility occupying 87,000 square feet, with open laboratories, rooftop greenhouses, and an aquatics lab.

Notable environmental-friendly features (listed on the same web page) include:

- Bicycle racks and a designated area for showering and changing to encourage walking, bicycling or jogging to work.

- Conservation of existing natural areas and restoration of damaged areas to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.

- Native or adaptive vegetation that needs half the amount of water that traditional landscaping requires.

- Efficient irrigation system that collects and reuses rainwater.

- Low-flow plumbing fixtures that use 30 percent less water than traditional fixtures.

While the building opened in 2010, the U.S. Green Building Council notes that it earned an LEED Gold rating (LEED-NC 2.2) with a score of 39 on June 8, 2011.

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