MIT Dorm Achieves LEED-Gold Sustainability Benchmark

A new MIT dorm on Pacific Street on C-port's east side officially received Gold-level designation under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. The architect of the "new" Ashdown House was William Rawn Associates, who has been feeling a lot of Cambridge love from another recent project, the Cambridge Main Library addition.

Details on the building's green strategies, from the Chronicle:

Ashdown House, a graduate residence that houses more than 400 students and includes a full dining area, earned its Gold rating for a variety of green features: The building’s landscaping and irrigation systems use water from a non-potable source; a storm-water management system significantly reduces storm-water runoff; maximized daylight is available in 95 percent of regularly occupied spaces; and low-flow fixtures reduce water use by more than 20 percent. What’s more, care was taken to make the construction of Ashdown House as low-impact as possible: More than 10 percent of its materials included recycled content; more than 75 percent of the waste from the construction was recycled; and the building uses low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) -emitting paints, sealants and carpets.

Photo courtesy MIT.