The tour of the first site, the 17,000 square-foot R.W. Kern Center, was led by members of the project team. In the fall of 2015, Hampshire College broke ground on the Kern Center, its first new building in decades. Upon its completion, the Kern Center will be a multifunctional learning, teaching, and exhibition space; the point of entry for prospective students and their families into the Hampshire community; and the location of the admissions financial aid and new student programs offices. Project completion is scheduled for the winter of 2016.

The tour of the second site, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, was led by members of the project team, including Construction Manager Wright Builders of Northampton, designLAB Architects of Boston, and Julie Johnson, Executive Director of the Hitchcock Center. The new 9,000 square-foot building will be New England's first public environmental education center to meet the LBC (version 2.1). The building will more than double the Center’s capacity to host programs for all ages, while also being a one-of-a-kind teaching tool. The new “living” Hitchcock Center is designed to model and mimic natural systems with interpretive and interactive exhibits, and will be an extension of Hitchcock’s mission to create a healthier more sustainable future. The building will be completed in the summer of 2016. More information: www.hitchcockcenter.org. 

The event concluded with an overview of LBC, and a Q&A-style panel of members from the project teams.

CEUs: 2.5 AIA LU/HSW, 2.5 GBCI and certificates of participation are available

Project Details:

Site 1: R.W. Kern Center

• Designed to meet the exacting standards of the Living Building Challenge

  

• Net-zero energy, waste, and water

• Will house the admissions office, financial aid, new student programs, a welcoming lobby for community members and visitors, a cafe, as well as multipurpose classroom and gallery space

Site 2: Hitchcock Center for the Environment

• 9,000 square-foot public environmental education center, the first in New England to  meet the LBC

• Will remediate an arsenic-contaminated site resulting from historical pesticide use on an apple orchard, in complying with the conditions of LBC

• Will supply 100% of the project's water needs through recaptured precipitation or other natural closed-loop water systems

• Will supply 100% of the project's energy needs through on-site renewable energy on a net annual basis, without the use of on-site combustion

Schedule: