Green

Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary Awarded 2015 Massachusetts Green Building of the Year Award

 Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary Trailhead House, Boylston, Mass. – photo by Anton Grassl


Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary Trailhead House / photo by Anton Grassl

Cambridge, MA – Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary’s Trailhead House was recently awarded the U.S. Green Building Council of Massachusetts 2015 Green Building of Year Award at a ceremony held on Thursday, October 1 at the Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge.

Project team members from The Green Engineers, Inc.; Consigli Construction Co., Inc.; and Summer Star’s Founder, Shalin Liu; were in attendance to receive the award, which was given to the best green building for exemplary building performance and innovation in green design.

(l-r) Chris Schaffner and Matt Smith, The Green Engineer, Inc.; Kathleen MacEwen, Consigli Construction Co., Inc.; Carrie Havey, The Green Engineer, Inc.; Shalin Liu, Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary; Ryan Montoni and Brad Newkirk, The Green Engineer, Inc.

(l-r) Chris Schaffner and Matt Smith, The Green Engineer; Kathleen MacEwen, Consigli; Carrie Havey, The Green Engineer; Shalin Liu, Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary; Ryan Montoni and Brad Newkirk, The Green Engineer.

The 5,200sf house serves as a visitor center and educational gateway to 45 acres of preserved forest, streams, and wetlands, and 1.5 miles of trails in Boylston. The sanctuary’s primary mission is to protect and care for the site’s wildlife and environment, and to offer a place for education and observation.The LEED Gold-certified building was designed to minimize its impact on the environment and incorporates sustainable features that include photovoltaic panels, green roofs, thermal shutters, composting toilets, waterless urinals, reclaimed wood harvested from the site, and a rain-water pool. The site design also incorporates many low-impact, sustainable techniques, including permeable pavement and roof runoff used in both underground fire protection and irrigation tanks.

Since Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary opened in the fall of 2014, it has garnered a number of building and design industry awards.

The project team also included building design by Dewing Schmid Kearns Architects + Planners; landscape design by Klopfer Martin Design Group; civil engineering by Outback Engineering, Inc.; structural engineering by Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.; and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering by Allied Engineering, Inc.

The 2015 Green Building Showcase is the USGBC of Massachusetts Chapter’s premier fall event to showcase and celebrate exceptional green buildings conceived, designed, built, and operated over the past year. Over 75 projects were on display, with more than 250 industry leaders in attendance.