Only five buildings in Massachusetts have been granted LEED Platinum Status for new construction. Four are large and located where one might expect them to be – in and around Boston, the Bay State’s intellectual and financial heart.
But the fifth and most recent project to achieve the coveted energy-efficiency designation could be considered a kind of oddball: It’s small, and it’s in Amherst.
The project’s architect and occupants said the building’s main significance is not its location, but rather its size – the 9,600-square-foot property at 15 Research Dr. is considerably smaller than most granted LEED Platinum status.
The building was designed by Kuhn Riddle Architects (KRA) and built by Arrowwood Design & Construction, both based in Amherst. It serves as the home of New England Environmental Inc. (NEE), an environmental consulting firm, and evokes an environmental feel. Architecturally, the building draws upon its agricultural heritage in the Pioneer Valley.
The building is just two stories tall, something that would not draw much attention in the luminous, big city of Boston. But in an otherwise sleepy college town like Amherst, the building makes a statement.
Typically, according to KRA Senior Principal John Kuhn, it is bigger fish that seek and receive LEED status.
“The perception is that LEED is only affordable by larger clients,” said Kuhn. But NEE’s building proves that “a smaller client…in a smaller town can also attain Platinum.” Kuhn added that the project represents one of the first LEED-certified projects to be entirely privately funded.
NEE employees said they hope their project serves as a model and inspiration for other companies looking to build similarl projects outside of Boston.
“You can do this anywhere,” said Julie Marcus, an administrative assistant at NEE. “[The project] came in on time and on budget.” She added that the company is saving $21,000 annually in utility costs with the sustainable developments.
Kuhn said he expects the project will “inspire people to see that it is affordable [to achieve LEED status].”
Marcus said she hopes the local student population, in particular, will take note of the project’s success.
“We hope to inspire [students] to take the sustainable principles used to construct [the] building and apply them in their future careers as architects, engineers, planners and landscape architects,” she said.
