Wake Forest moved to its current home on the Reynolda Campus in 1956. The majority of existing campus buildings were constructed in those early days. These fifty-year-old facilities are kept running through investments in energy-efficiency and renovations that benefit the environment and the university’s bottom line. Today, the Reynolda campus includes approximately 345 acres of land and 3.5 million gross square feet of building space.
Environmentally Preferable Construction
Starting in 2007, Wake Forest implemented a policy that all buildings — including new construction and major renovations — must be designed and built to meet a minimum of the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standards.
Preserving and retrofitting buildings on campus saves between 50-75% of the embodied materials, energy, and equivalent carbon. Through renovation and retrofitting, the six residence halls on Hearn Plaza now use 24% less energy and 42% less water. Low-flow shower heads, faucets, and toilets and LED lights all contribute to these efficiency gains.
While the addition of signature buildings like Farrell Hall, the Shah Basketball Complex, and the Sutton Sports Performance Center has resulted in over 800,000 square feet of new building space, a total of 52 renovation projects totaling over 600,000 square feet have optimized existing buildings for new needs. Whenever possible, buildings on campus are retrofitted rather than built new.
LEED Certified Buildings at Wake Forest
| Building | LEED Certification | Date Certified | WFU Campus | Owned or Leased |
| Dianne Dailey Golf Education Center (First building to receive LEED certification) | LEED Gold | Fall 2010 | Reynolda | Owned |
| South Hall | LEED Gold | May 2011 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Porter B. Byrum Welcome Center | LEED Gold | July 2011 | Reynolda | Owned |
| University Activity Space | LEED Silver | April 2012 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Farrell Hall | LEED Gold | February 2016 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Dogwood Residence Hall | LEED Silver | January 2015 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Magnolia Residence Hall | LEED Silver | January 2015 | Reynolda | Owned |
| North Dining Hall | LEED Silver | February 2015 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Haddock House (WFU Golf Clubhouse) | LEED Silver | October 2017 | Reynolda | Owned |
| McCreary Field House | LEED Silver | May 2018 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Angelou Residence Hall | LEED Silver | January 2019 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Chris Hurd Player Development Center (WFU Baseball Clubhouse) | LEED Silver | December 2019 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Reynolds Gym | LEED Gold | March 2020 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Sutton Sports Performance Center | LEED Silver | May 2020 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Shah Basketball Complex | LEED Silver | June 2020 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Harold Pollard Center (WFU Tennis Courtside Club) | LEED Silver | September 2021 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Palmer and Piccolo (Home to the ENV & ANT programs) | LEED Silver | January 2022 | Reynolda | Owned |
| Wake Forest Biotech Place | LEED Gold | September 2012 | Wake Downtown | Leased |
| 525 @ Vine (Building 90 South) | LEED Platinum | January 2014 | Wake Downtown | Leased |
| Wake Downtown (Building 60 South) | LEED Platinum | April 2017 | Wake Downtown | Leased |
| Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education (Building 60 North) | LEED Platinum | April 2017 | Wake Downtown | Leased |
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