We’re excited to announce that University of Massachusetts Boston’s University Hall has been awarded LEED-Gold status (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council. The award recognizes environmentally conscience and innovative design decisions, green building materials and techniques, and efficient forward-thinking building operations.
We collaborated with Wilson Architects on the the six-story academic and performing arts center which overlooks the Massachusetts Bay and features a 200-seat studio theatre, 175-seat recital hall, dance studio, and support spaces, in addition to science labs, lecture halls, and communal gathering areas, and a café.
Dozens of environmentally conscious technologies, materials, and design decisions went into the creation of the 191,000-square-foot building, including energy-efficient LED performance lighting. With two performance spaces, the decision to use LED theatrical lights instead of traditional incandescents reduced the electrical and HVAC infrastructure to a third of that required for a comparable incandescent system.
Other green approaches included recycled and locally sourced building materials, a high-performance exterior envelope and glazing system, reduced lighting power density, heat recovery systems for the lab spaces, and reduced ventilation during unoccupied hours. The use of low-water plants in the landscaping, accommodation for bicycle commuters and low-emission vehicles—in addition to dozens of other design decisions—contributed to a thoughtful and stunning new facility that operates using 25% less energy than a comparable building.
With its LEED-Gold designation, University Hall joins more than 20 other Theatre Projects facilities to achieve LEED status, including Charlotte, North Carolina’s ImaginOn Center—our first U.S. performing arts center to earn LEED status, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre in Athens, Greece, which is the first cultural project of its scale to achieve LEED-Platinum certification.