Green Building Projects at Harvard
Over the past six years, Harvard has experienced a boom in green new construction and renovation. These projects demonstrate the University’s commitment to sustainability and occupant health and comfort, while providing lessons learned for each new project that the University undertakes. This is best demonstrated by the 20 Harvard projects registered or certified with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), eight of which have already received a Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) Certification.
LEED Certification recognizes buildings that have selected and improved a sustainable site, improved water efficiency, minimized energy use, selected environmentally preferred building materials, provided an improved indoor environmental quality and utilized innovative strategies to improve building performance.
LEED Certified
Blackstone Renovation: LEED Platinum
90 Mt. Auburn Street : LEED Gold
Zero Arrow Street: LEED Certified
Schlesinger Library Renovation: LEED Certified
60 Oxford Street: LEED Certified
Mather Dunster Renovation: LEED-CI Silver
One Western Avenue: LEED Silver
Landmark Center Renovation: LEED-CI Certified
LEED Registered
Fogg Art Museum: Registered, seeking LEED Gold rating
Allston Science Center: Registered, seeking LEED Gold rating
Byerly Hall Renovation: Registered, seeking LEED Certified rating
5 Cowperthwaite Street: Registered, seeking LEED Gold rating
Weld Hill: Registered, seeking LEED Silver rating
10 Akron Street: Registered, seeking LEED Gold rating
Rockefeller Hall: Registered, seeking LEED Certified rating
2 Grant St: Registered, seeking LEED Platinum rating
Blackstone Renovation
Department: University Operations Services
Building Type: Office
LEED Status: LEED-NC Platinum
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: Energy: ground source heat pumps for cooling, designed to be 42% more efficient than a code-compliant building, valance units for heating and cooling, decoupled from the ventilation system, enthalpy wheel for latent and sensible heat recovery, demand control ventilation. Water: occupant water use is reduced by 43% compared to Energy Policy Act of 1992-compliant plumbing fixtures using dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, and low-flow fixtures. Environmental Quality: extensive daylight and views, low-emitting paints, adhesives, sealants, carpets, and composite wood, green cleaning program.
90 Mount Auburn Street
Department: Harvard University Library Service
Building Type: Special Collections Library
LEED Status: LEED-NC Gold
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: Energy: Designed to be 32% more energy efficient than an ASHRAE 90.1-1999 compliant building, ground source heat pumps used for heating and cooling.
Water use reduced by 43% over EPAct 1992 requirements. Materials: 96% of construction waste diverted from landfills. Indoor Environmental Quality: Glazed curtain wall and skylights provide natural daylighting throughout the building, First project at Harvard to use the indoor air quality testing method for LEED compliance.
Zero Arrow Street
Department: Developed by Rolling Breeze, LLC (Harvard owns a condominium within the building)
Building Type: Theatre and Office Space
LEED Status: LEED-NC Certified
HGCI Role: Case study and documentation of lessons learned
Major Features: Energy: Ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling, 35% reduction in energy use over ASHRAE 90.1-1999. Water: A 2000 cubic foot stormwater cistern collects water in the basement to provide 100% of the water used for irrigation on the site. Indoor Environmental Quality: low-emitting materials, extensive daylighting.
Schlesinger Library Renovation
Department: HRES
Building Type: Library
LEED Status: LEED-NC Certified
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: Energy use reduced by 25% over code. Materials: Renovation of a 1907 building—100% of building shell and elements preserved, 91% of construction wasted diverted from landfills. Site: open space preserved, tree shading reduces the heat island effect ,Views outdoors for over 90% of spaces. Indoor Environmental Quality: Green cleaning contract signed.
60 Oxford Street
Department: University Information Services/HRES
Building Type: Information Technology
LEED Status: LEED-NC Certified
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: Energy: building is 25% more efficient than code, raised access floor in data center.
Site: roof garden and a cool roof. Indoor Environmental Quality: low-emitting carpet, paints, and adhesives.
Materials: Forest Stewardship Council certified wood, demountable interior partitions facilitate future modifications of interior space.
Mather Dunster Renovation
Department: Harvard Dining Services
Building Type: Kitchen and Servery
LEED Status: LEED-CI Silver, First LEED certified kitchen in the nation
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: Energy: Melink Exhaust Hood Controls monitor smoke in the new range hood and adjust variable speed drive exhaust fans according to actual conditions determined by a laser beam. Water savings of over 32% compared to code using low-flow sinks and dual-flush toilets. Materials: Food waste is composted using a pulping and dewatering machine, waste oil is recycled for use in biodiesel vehicles, kitchen equipment sent to Spanish Town, Jamaica for reuse in local orphanages, more than 95% of construction waste was diverted from landfills.
One Western Avenue
Department: HRES
Building Type: Graduate Student Housing
LEED Status: LEED-NC Silver
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: Energy: Designed to be 50% more efficient than code. Site: Open space along, and views to, the Charles River preserved by creating a cantilevered section of the building, 1.5 acres of open space created, 19 electric car recharging stations in the garage, enough for more than 3% of the parking capacity.
Landmark Center Renovation
Department: HSPH
Building Type: OFFICE
LEED Status: LEED-CI Certified
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: Energy: North America’s first use of the DALI lighting system. The DALI system allows for occupant control of lights from personal computers. With the DALI system, lights can be brought to 80% of their intensity, photo-sensors help reduce demand for perimeter lighting, as they adjust to the intensity of daylight, mercury-free lamps. Sylvania-Osram is providing efficient T-5 technology at reduced costs. The lights also use low-voltage wiring, underfloor ventilation. Water: Occupant water use reduced by 20%. Materials: Bamboo flooring.
Fogg Art Museum
Department: HU Art Museums
Building Type: Museum
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-NC Gold rating
HGCI Role: Sustainability consultant
Major Features: (In Design) Additional space on the first floor including a new entrance and new pedestrian flow, focus on natural light wherever possible.
Allston Science Center
Department: HSCI, HIBIE, HSBI, HCBI, HIIC
Building Type: Labs
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-NC Gold rating
HGCI Role: Sustainability consultant
Major Features: (In Design) Aspects of the conceptual design include passive heating and cooling, natural drainage, renewable energy, reuse of stormwater and greywater, environmentally responsible materials, and energy efficient laboratories.
Byerly Hall Renovation
Department: Radcliffe
Building Type: Offices
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-NC Certified rating
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; sustainability consultant
Major Features: (In Design) Aspects of the early design include reuse of a historic building, ground source heat pumps, environmentally preferable materials, dual flush toilets and low-flow sinks, and low-emitting materials.
5 Cowperthwaite Street
Department: HRES
Building Type: Graduate Student Housing
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-NC Gold rating
HGCI Role: Sustainability Consultant; owner's rep
Major Features: Rainwater catchment collects water for site irrigation, high albedo/cool roof with a custom Cambridge Green tint, dual-flush demonstration for HRES to test these particular products.
Rendering by Elkus Manfredi Architects
Weld Hill
Department: Arnold Arboretum
Building Type: Labs and Offices
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-NC Silver rating
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; Sustainability consultant
Major Features: (In Design) Aspects of the current design include closed loop geothermal system, no permanent irrigation system, dual-flush toilets and waterless urinals, environmentally preferable materials. First closed loop geothermal well system at Harvard.
Rendering by Kling Stubbins
10 Akron Street
Department: HRES
Building Type: Graduate Student Housing
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-NC Gold rating
HGCI Role: Sustainability consultant; owner's rep
Major Features: High albedo/cool roof with a custom Cambridge Green tint, open space maintained, underground parking. Water: 1.6 gallon per minute showerheads.
Rendering by Kyu Sung Woo Architects
Rockefeller Hall
Department: HDS
Building Type: Classroom/Office/Dining Hall
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-NC Gold rating
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; sustainability consultant
Major Features: Creation of a campus green, improvement to building envelope, CO2 sensors in dining hall, energy recovery wheel, Melink variable speed hood fan in kitchen.
Rendering by Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates
2 Grant St
Department: Residential Real Estate
Building Type: Single family wood-frame
LEED Status: Registered, seeking LEED-Homes Platinum rating
HGCI Role: LEED consultant; sustainability consultant
Major Features: Insulated cathedral ceiling, super-insulated walls and envelope, reuse of an existing historical house, low flow sinks and showers, dual flush toilets, native vegetation requires little irrigation.
