Project of the Month - MIT's $142 million Sloan School of Management labeled greenest building on campus

The MIT Sloan School of Management has created a dynamic and strongly identifiable building overlooking the Charles River. Opened in August of 2010, this new 217,000 s/f, $142 million facility consolidates all MIT Sloan faculty offices in one building while providing classrooms, an executive education suite, dining and space for group study. Organized along Memorial Dr. and facing the river is the main interior open space - a two-story gallery designed with a curving form that is the hub of a set of public spaces. Designed by Moore Ruble Yudell of Santa Monica, Calif., with Bruner/Cott & Associates of Cambridge, Mass., this LEED Gold certified building has been labeled the greenest on the MIT campus. Sustainability in all categories - environmental, financial, and social - was a design priority. The building envelope is highly efficient to reduce loads. Integrated light and shade controls in the offices manage energy and reduce solar heat gain. Hydronic heating and cooling systems were installed throughout the building including chilled beams, radiant panels, and radiant flooring - all reducing energy use and noise and improving occupant comfort. It is also worth noting that more than 90% of the debris from a structure torn down to make way for this new building was diverted away from landfills. Major elements of the garden that had been in front of the demolished building, including trees weighing up to 17 tons, were relocated to a new park-like area on campus. Much of the site was formerly an MIT parking lot. The project included a new underground parking garage for over 400 cars to effectively remove most of the cars from the site. In total, the new MIT Sloan School of Management building converted 70,000 s/f of asphalt surfaces to outdoor garden spaces. The garden on the south side of the MIT Sloan building takes full advantage of views of the Charles River and Boston. On the north side of the building there is another large garden that opens up to Cambridge and showcases a new sculpture by Cai Guo-Qiang. The landscape has an "intelligent irrigation" system that responds to conditions on the ground and is also connected to a central weather station for minimized watering.