Bufftree Building completes new 20,800 s/f Mashpee Library

Bufftree Building Company has completed Cape Cod's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified public library, and one of the first in Massachusetts, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 2nd. Rick Pomroy, project manager for the town and principal of Pomroy Associates LLC said, "The integration of Internet age technology with the historical aspects of a library." The 20,800 s/f library is on track to receive Gold certification in the LEED rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council. The $6.4 million library incorporates a 21.1kW photovoltaic energy generation system, or solar panels to the layman, to help fuel the building's lighting, electrical components and air conditioning. Heat is generated by a high-efficiency, gas-fired boiler, and an energy recovery system is used to reclaim heat and cooling. The project design was provided by architect Stewart Roberts Associates, Inc. The weather station's interactive touch screen enables patrons to see the energy that is being generated from this green building. Some of the library's other exceptional features include a digital information screen containing town news; pay-as-you-go computer systems available to the public along with an in-house computer management facility; digitally controlled self-check units for taking books out of the library; and a quasi-library store with DVDs and music videos that can be checked out. The site also includes a community events room and a children's outdoor story garden or reading area.