Simmons College Builds Gold LEED Certified Building

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 05/06/09

Boston's Simmons College has received Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its School of Management and Academic Building. The building, which opened in January, is Simmons's first structure built in accordance with the standards set by the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

Gold certification is the second-highest level of LEED certification. According to the USGBC, only two other academic institutions in Boston--Harvard Business School and Suffolk University--have Gold-certified buildings.

"I am extremely pleased that our newest green building has received Gold certification and recognition by the US Green Building Council," said President Helen Drinan. "This has been an exciting few months for Simmons and for our School of Management, which recently received accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and which this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of its Leadership Conference."

The five-story, 66,500-square-foot School of Management and Academic Building houses the Simmons School of Management, which focuses on serving women. The building includes four state-of-the-art general-use classrooms, four School of Management-specific classrooms, an executive education conference room, and a "green" landscaped roof plaza.

The building uses sustainable and recyclable building materials and highly efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation systems and water fixtures. It's expected to use 34 percent less water and 38 percent less energy than similar buildings of the same size.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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