Built in 1931 and expanded in 1977, the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School serves 1,700 students and regularly hosts community and public events as the city's only public high school. The school shares its urban city block with two other city-owned buildings - War Memorial Recreation Center and the Cambridge Public Library - both of which are LEED Silver certified projects and serve as resources for the local community and students at CRLS.
The sustainable design measures exceeded the city's initial goals, earning the project LEED Gold and underscoring the efforts of the city and the design team to manage resource use, modernize municipal facilities and provide a healthy learning environment for all students. The sustainability improvements for the complex include a chilled beam HVAC system-well-suited to incorporation in existing concrete frame buildings—and a rooftop photovoltaic array. These retrofits, coupled with daylighting and high-efficiency fixtures, contribute to the school's net energy savings, lowering the operating costs by more than $335,000 annually. Other visible features include low-flow fixtures that provide an annual savings of 1.3 million gallons of water, a small rooftop garden, monitors that display real-time energy data, operable windows and an extensive array of heavily-used bike racks. As one of only a handful of renovation projects to achieve LEED Gold, the project validates a city-wide commitment to environmental stewardship.
HMFH Architects, Inc.: architect/interior design
Consigli Construction Co., Inc.: contractor
Nitsch Engineering: civil engineer
Carol R. Johnson Associates: landscape architect
Green Building Concepts: LEED consultant
Architecture + Design: LEED consultant
Kevin Settlemyre: sustainability consultant
TMP Consulting Engineers: electrical/MEP/mech'l. engineer
Foley Buhl Roberts & Assoc.: structural engineer
Cambridge Public Schools: owner
Sebesta Blomberg: commissioning agent
LightTh!s: lighting designer
TMP Consulting Engineers: lighting designer
HMFH Architects: lighting designer
Cavanaugh Tocci Associates: acoustical consultant
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger: envelope consultant