NESEA ProTour and Monthly “Living” Building Tours

By Jessica Schultz

Living Building Challenge^TM (LBC) projects like our new building are designed and constructed for a changing future. To fully share the magnitude of work involved in this challenge, we are committed to educating our wider community through our building as an educator – the principles of nature we model and replicate, the research required for non-red-list materials, the impact of our choices on our children and future generations. These educational opportunities have now started, and we’re excited to be sharing them with our community!

Hitchcock’s Monthly “Living” Building Site Tour

The Hitchcock Center began its first public monthly tour of the building for the community on September 4th. Nearly 20 people attended this half-hour lunch time tour guided by our Executive Director Julie Johnson and our Construction Manager, Mark Ledwell of Wright Builders. With the foundation in the ground, participants gained a deeper understanding of how our building will fit into the site, and the background work that is required to satisfy a Living Building Challenge project. We invite you to join us on future “Living” Building, scheduled for the first Friday of each month from 12:30-1PM. Upcoming tours are October 2, November 6. Meet at the Red Barn at Hampshire College.

: Hitchcock Executive Director Julie Johnson discusses the Living Building Challenge during a monthly “living” building site tour.

: Hitchcock Executive Director Julie Johnson describes the building to participants on the tour.

: Tour participants gather in the project trailer before touring the site.

NESEA ProTour

Hitchcock Center was honored to be included in NESEA‘s Building Energy Pro Tour in partnership with Wright Builders and Hampshire College‘s R.W. Kern Center. Together our projects provided a first for building industry professionals – an opportunity to see two Living Building Challenge projects coming to life within such close proximity of each other.

Held on September 18th, this half-day tour attracted architects, engineers, designers, and other industry professionals to tour both green building projects and to learn directly from the project teams about how they have applied solutions, strategies, and research to implement transformative green building designs. Participants toured both sites after opening remarks by Jonathan Wright, Mark Ledwell and Tom Lucia of Wright Builders (Construction Manager for Hampshire College’s Kern Center and Hitchcock Center), Christopher Nielson of Bruner/Cott Architects and Planners (architect for Hampshire College), Julie Johnson, Executive Director of the Hitchcock Center, and Sam Batchelor of designLAB Architects (architect for Hitchcock Center). The event culminated in a special presentation by Chris Chamberland of Berkshire Design Group on designing net zero water systems.

: Jonathan Wright of Wright Builders

: Jonathan Wright of Wright Builders

: Jonathan Wright of Wright Builders

: Mark Ledwell of Wright Builders

: Sam Batchelor of designLAB Architects

: Sam Batchelor of designLAB Architects

: Participants arrive at the Hitchcock Center building site.

: Participants gather for a project over view of the Hitchcock Center’s “living” building project during a NESEA Pro Tour.

: Mark Ledwell of Wright Builders discusses the project during a NESEA Pro Tour.

: Sam Batchelor of designLAB Architects discusses the project during a NESEA Pro Tour.

: Chris Riddle, Hitchcock Center Project Manager, formerly of Kuhn Riddle Architects.

: Chris Chamberland of Berkshire Design Group

: Chris Chamberland of Berkshire Design Group

Jessica Schultz is Communication and Capital Project Coordinator for the Hitchcock Center. She guides on-going media relations, website and social media, publications, marketing planning and photography. She also supports the Executive Director and building committee in planning for a new environmental learning center.