Cambridge’s Rindge and Latin School (CRLS), with a renovation designed by HMFH Architects Inc., has attained LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“As far as we know, less than 10 renovated school buildings nationwide have achieved LEED Gold, so we are especially proud,” Cambridge City Manager Richard Rossi said in a statement.  

Renovations to the three-story, 40,000-square-foot school include a chilled-beam HVAC system and a rooftop photovoltaic solar energy array. The retrofits, coupled with high-efficiency lighting fixtures and daylighting, will lower the operating costs of the school by more than $335,000 annually and reduce energy use by more than 1.3 million KWh of electricity and nearly 44,000 therms of natural gas.

Other features include monitors in the lobby that display real-time energy data, a small rooftop garden, low-flow fixtures that save 1.3 million gallons of water annually, operable windows and outdoor bike racks. Beneath the playground for the school’s onsite daycare center, a rainwater collection tank stores runoff from the roof and is used to irrigate the landscaping, eliminating potable water use.

HMFH Architects updated the classrooms and corridors with new windows, flooring and wall finishes. The redesigned science core includes larger labs that accommodate teaching areas as well as space for experiments, and the theater is redesigned and equipped for live broadcasts. The company also updated technology in the library and classrooms. During the renovation, 95 percent of waste from landfills was diverted back into the manufacturing process.