Boston – Built Environment Plus (BE+) recently hosted its 2025 Green Building Showcase at Boston’s largest net-zero facility at One Boston Wharf Road. Over 330 people gathered to celebrate the local green building community and the accelerating progress towards sustainable and regenerative buildings across Massachusetts.
BE+ received a record of 68 award submissions this year, including nine for a new Building Decarb Intervention Award focused on smaller-scale emission reduction interventions for existing buildings. WS Development hosted the event for the third consecutive year, and a panel of national judges selected the standout projects, while local judges chose a Change Agent of the Year recognizing someone making a significant positive impact on the environment, social equity, and the economy.
“The projects at this year’s showcase signal a revolution in the building sector as things we only dreamed about at the start of my career are not only being built, but these project teams are doing it with little to no cost premium,” said BE+ executive director, Meredith Elbaum. “These projects are real. They are happening. They are energy efficient, healthy, and cost effective. They reduce greenhouse gas emissions while saving untold millions of dollars over their lifetime. They are utilizing Mass Save incentives to generate $3 in energy cost savings for every $1 invested and they have created the new standard for building,”
According to the judges, the entries marked “a notable evolution in the caliber and focus of projects in just one year. This year’s field included a multitude of examples of well-done geothermal and mass timber solutions, renovations, and building reuse.”
An exemplary Boston Public Schools project emerged as both the fan favorite and judges’ pick for Green Building of the Year. The Josiah Quincy Upper School (JQUS), located in Boston’s historic Chinatown, was designed by HMFH Architects to meet Boston’s Green New Deal and climate action plans, support minority students in a dense urban environment, and provide all of the educational facilities of a modern high school. The all-electric facility is one of only eight schools nation-wide to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED v4.1 Platinum certification.
BE+ added the new Building Decarb Intervention Award this year to highlight impactful and replicable projects that are leading the way towards the state’s climate goals. The winner was an innovative waste-heat recovery plan submitted by GreenerU for a 27-story affordable housing apartment tower in Mission Hill’s Levinson Tower. According to the judges, “The renovation at Levinson is designed to improve the health of low-income residents, reduce heating costs, and capture wasted heat while providing significant decarbonization and compatibility with a future ground source heat pump. The jury was also impressed at the number of stakeholders engaged in the process. We need this kind of creativity and work at scale.”
Judges also selected Marty Josten, principal director of building decarbonization at New Ecology, as Change Agent of the Year. The award recognizes her significant positive impact on the environment, social equity, and the economy by creating a blueprint for how communities can build a resilient sustainable future through collaboration.
The Josiah Quincy Upper School won Green Building of the Year / Photo courtesy of BE+ and HMFH Architects
Green Building of the Year and People’s Choice Award
Josiah Quincy Upper School, submitted by HMFH Architects
Building Decarb Intervention
Roxbury Tenants of Harvard Levinson Heat Recovery, submitted by GreenerU, Inc.
Carbon & Energy
The Guild, submitted by Utile
Health & Wellness
Penn State Behrend Erie Hall Recreation and Wellness Center, submitted by Sasaki
The Pryde
Equity & Inclusion
The Pryde, submitted by DiMella Shaffer
Site & Landscape
J.J. Carroll Redevelopment’s Intergenerational Gardens, submitted by Stantec
Sustainable Building Operations
Jaycee Place, submitted by Aspen Air Duct
Sustainable Whole-Building Renovation
40 Thorndike, submitted by Elkus Manfredi Architects
Sustainable Construction Innovation
Stellata, submitted by Stantec
Marty Josten won the Change Agent of the Year award
Sustainable Interior Fit-Out
Office Deconstruction & Reuse, submitted by Turner
Student Project of the Year
Terra Cura Center, submitted by Elijah Feliz, Júlia De Lima, Hunter Osborne, Berlens Badin (Boston Architectural College)
Change Agent of the Year
Marty Josten, Principal Director of Building Decarbonization, New Ecology
