Smith College's newest building, a 2,300-sf learning center at its nearby field station, has achieved top honors for environmental sustainability by meeting the rigorous performance requirements of the Living Building Challenge, a green building standard overseen by the International Living Future Institute.
The Living Building Challenge is considered the most comprehensive design- and performance-based building standard related to the environment. The Bechtel Environmental Classroom, as Smith College’s building is known, is only the fifth Certified Living Building in the world, and the first such building in New England.
Supported by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and located at Smith's MacLeish Field Station in Whately, Mass., the Bechtel Classroom was completed in 2012.
The single-story wood-framed building was designed by Coldham & Hartman Architects, a firm based in Amherst, Mass., and built by the Deerfield, Mass.-based contractor Scapes Builders. The building comprises a seminar space, a multipurpose room, and an instructional lab. An outdoor gathering space offers visitors a view of the Holyoke Range.
“The Bechtel Environmental Classroom highlights Smith’s commitment to sustainability and the environment in a tangible and meaningful way,” says Drew Guswa, professor of engineering and the director of Smith’s Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS), which is a primary user of the classroom. He notes that CEEDS students had input into the design of the building.
To meet the Living Building Challenge, buildings must fulfill the requirements of seven different “Petals”—Equity, Beauty, Health, Site, Water, Energy and Materials—that encompass issues of sustainability, aesthetics and social justice.
“The Living Building Challenge is straightforward, but immensely difficult,” says Bruce Coldham, one of the building’s architects. Even before ground was broken, Coldham and the contractors were conscious of the requirements of the Living Building Challenge. In their design, they incorporated elements like composting toilets and solar panels that return to the grid 50 percent more energy than the building uses. They used local materials and sited the classroom in an area that required clearing mostly invasive species. Also, all materials used were certified free of carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemical agents.
Since the Bechtel Environmental Classroom’s opening in September 2012, students have monitored a range of data points around the building’s electricity and water usage to demonstrate that it operated over its first year of occupancy as a net-zero facility, meaning that it generates more energy than it uses and that it draws solely on a renewable water system.
The building is used by a variety of departments, including landscape studies and Jewish studies, as well as for writing retreats and concerts.
Future plans include poetry readings and dance performances.
Electrical – Martin Electric
For more on the building, visit: http://living-future.org/node/1136
Related Stories
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 10, 2014
How your firm can gain an edge on university projects
Top administrators from five major universities describe how they are optimizing value on capital expenditures, financing, and design trends—and how their AEC partners can better serve them and other academic clients.
| May 9, 2014
It's official: Norman Foster-designed Harmon hotel and casino to be razed due to structural issues
Construction of the Las Vegas tower was halted in 2008 after experts discovered faulty steel beams in the structure. Now its owner, MGM, has received permission to demolish the building.
| May 9, 2014
5 trends transforming higher education
Performance-based funding models and the adoption of advanced technologies like augmented reality for teaching are just a few of the predictions offered by CannonDesign's higher education sector leader, Brad Lukanic.
| May 9, 2014
40 Under 40: Where are they now?
BD+C catches up with two past U40 honorees: Matt Dumich of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture and David Montalba of Montalba Architects
| May 8, 2014
Perfecting prefab: 8 tips for healthcare construction projects
Leading AEC firms offer helpful advice for using BIM to pull off prefab for everything from MEP infrastructure to whole bathrooms.
| May 8, 2014
Don’t bother planning for the future - it doesn’t care about you
Though strategic planning has helped many businesses move forward, its time has passed. So says Economist and Author Bill Conerly. SPONSORED CONTENT
| May 8, 2014
Infographic: 4 most common causes of construction site fatalities
In honor of Safety Week, Skanska put together this nifty infographic on how to prevent deadly harm in construction.
| May 8, 2014
Sporting events in style: Infographic showcases novel stadiums of the world
UK precast concrete maker Banagher, which specializes in precast stadia solutions, has assembled a list of the world's top stadiums in terms of architectural and structural design.