Centerbrook’s Academic Design Recognized

CENTERBROOK, Conn. – Centerbrook has received an award for Best Sustainable Design from the Connecticut Real Estate Exchange for its work at Quinnipiac University’s York Hill Campus in Hamden, Connecticut. Led by partner Jefferson B. Riley, FAIA, Centerbrook has been designing the various buildings and infrastructure at the new campus for more than five years. The Blue Ribbon Award was for the Crescent Residence Hall, Rocky Top Student Center, and parking garage.

Located on a hill with views to Long Island Sound, York Hill encompasses a 2000-bed student village, the TD Bank Sports Center for Division 1 hockey and basketball teams, the student center, a parking garage, and a wind terrace of 25 vertical-axis turbines that power site lighting while also serving as a kinetic sculpture gallery.

The campus is designed to teach students about responsible development by mitigating the environmental impact of a major expansion. Twenty percent of the power is provided through clean, on-site energy. In addition to wind power, Centerbrook designed an array of sustainable features into York Hill. Solar photovoltaic panels provide electricity, and a geothermal ground-source heat pump assists with heating and cooling. The new 85,000-square-foot Rocky Top Student Center houses a highly efficient, gas-fired cogeneration micro-turbine that produces both electricity and heat for the campus. Other green approaches include water- and maintenance-efficient landscaping and plumbing fixtures, maximum use of on site materials, and storm water management and treatment.

York Hill is one of three campuses at Quinnipiac University, which has a total enrollment of 5,700 undergraduates and 2,500 graduate and law school students. The award was presented at the organization’s annual Blue Ribbon Awards Showcase, which honored six other recipients.