Join NESEA on a Pro Tour of two projects under construction on the Hampshire College campus in Amherst, MA, designed to meet the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge (LBC). There are currently only eight certified LBC projects in the world.
The tour of the first site, the 17,000 square-foot R.W. Kern Center, will be led by members of the project team (TBD). 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 will be led by members of the project team (TBD). Within the new building, due for late spring 2016 completion, visitors will find three live exhibits, each focusing on a distinct New England habitat. The building itself will function as a living laboratory by providing real-time and historical performance metrics through a digital dashboard. Miles of trails and varied habitats – vernal pools, streams, woodlands, ponds, forests, meadows and wetlands – are immediately accessible by foot from the new building. The new 9,000 square-foot Hitchcock Center will be New England’s first public environmental education center to meet the LBC’s (version 2.1) twenty imperatives and 7 petals.
The event will conclude with an overview of LBC, and a Q&A-style panel of members from the project teams.
CEUs: 2.5 AIA LU/HSW (approved), 2.5 GBCI (pending approval) and certificates of participation are available
Member registration: $25 | Non-member registration: $35