By Grey Lee

On Wednesday June 25th, the USGBC MA West Branch, in coordination with the Western MA AIA, hosted a Green Building Tour of the UMass Amherst campus.

UMass has seen a major investment in new buildings in the past few years.

The tour focused on 3 facilities: 1) the new Integrated Learning Center 2) the scholars center residential complex and 3) the Hampshire Dining Commons.

Thank you to the UMass Amherst Campus Planning Department and members of the USGBC MA West Branch, especially Ludmilla Pavlova and Lorin Starr of the Western MA AIA for organizing this tour.

Below: the Integrated Learning Center – which will hold 20% of the campus' classes next year. It is on track to meet LEED NC Gold and correspond with the state's LEED Plus program.
 

 
Thank you to Jeff Quackenbush for leading the tour of the facility. Here is a link to read more about the ILC.
 

The ILC has a great green roof – very well established plantings already.
 

 

 

Next we went to the Commonwealth Honors College Residential Complex. This will be a landmark component of UMass Amherst welcoming ambitious students from the entire state university system.
 

 

The Honors Complex has numerous sustainability features and you can read more about it at Sustainable UMass.
 

We ended the tour with a dinner at the Hampshire Dining Commons which has recently been renovated to be a state-of-the-art facility linking local food production to the dining experience on campus. We heard a few brief presentations and enjoyed a great meal. This place takes the concept of a college cafeteria to a whole new level!
 

Thank you again to to the UMass Amherst Campus Planning Department, members of the USGBC MA West Branch, and Western MA AIA for organizing this tour!

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