• Pilot project for Harvard’s 2024 Sustainable Building Standards and Living Building Challenge Core certification of an interior renovation.
• Improves accessibility and provides a flexible work environment.

The Harvard Heathier Building Academy (HHBA) takes a class-based approach to eliminating chemical classes of concern from building products, finishes, and furnishings. These include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemical flame retardants, and antimicrobials in all 14 interior product categories and more chemical classes where we can go further, for example, carpet.

In addition to selecting healthy materials, the project used environmentally responsible materials including:

• 62% of wood products were certified as responsibly harvested
• Almost half of the materials for the project were locally sourced (within 300 miles).

The design leveraged natural design elements to enhance the occupant experience and well-being.  Examples of “bringing the outdoors in,” also described as “biophilic design,” include:

• The design removed solid partitions and opened visual corridors with access to natural light and views of the adjacent pedestrian activated landscape and full growth trees.
• Elements such as living wall, natural wood finishes, and curvilinear furniture with wool textiles that introduce colors found in nature
• The dense library book stacks located in the building core areas act as a buffer between more active zones, with glimpses of exterior views through to the quiet reading areas at the building’s perimeter.

• The mechanical system upgrades include ventilation and air flow strategies that increase the ventilation rate 75% over the ASHRAE 62.1 requirement and provide demand control ventilation in all regularly occupied spaces
• MERV 13 filtration is provided on all supply and return airstreams serving occupied areas
• Health of building occupants is supported through high quality indoor air. The HHBA products installed contribute to improved indoor air quality by avoiding the generation of dust containing “chemical classes of concern” (many derived from petrochemicals).

• The Gutman Library renovation had a target energy savings of 25% relative to ASHRAE 90.1-2010 through a prescriptive approach. The project implemented several strategies to improve energy performance and reduce associated emissions, including:
  • High-efficiency heat pumps
  • Enhanced controls and temperature setbacks
  • Demand control ventilation
  • Efficient LED lighting with occupancy and daylight controls
  • Energy Star certified equipment

• By retrofitting the existing building, the project’s embodied carbon is significantly reduced compared to constructing an entirely new building.
• Many existing interior finishes, including ceilings, floors, furniture, and partitions, were reused in the new space, reducing waste and avoiding additional embodied carbon emissions
• For new materials, the project team carefully selected ceiling, carpet, and gypsum wallboard products with lower embodied carbon.
• The project team performed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the building that demonstrated a 56% embodied carbon reduction compared to comparable low-carbon new building baseline.

• LBC Core Certification requires a minimum 30% water reduction from the equivalent baseline.
  • All existing plumbing fixtures have been replaced with new toilet rooms fixtures that are low flow, water-efficient, and Water-Sense Labeled.
  • Modeling predicts a 38% water reduction overall. Building features designed to reduce water consumption include efficient fixtures and condensate recovery for flushing.