Kroon Hall, Yale School of the Environment

Designed as Yale’s sustainable flagship, the LEED Platinum-certified Kroon Hall was named a top 10 green building by the AIA Committee on the Environment. A modern high-performance building that references its Collegiate Gothic neighbors, Kroon houses offices, classrooms and a dramatic day-lit third floor loft for the Yale School of the Environment.

Client

Yale University

Location New Haven, CT
Size 68,818 Sq. Ft.
Features LEED
Program classrooms, conference center, cafe, offices, library
Year Completed 2009
Photo Credit Hopkins, Morley von Sternberg, Derek Hayn/Centerbrook

Kroon Hall is Yale's greenest building and the embodiment of the university’s commitment to sustainable ideals. It was designed to use 50 percent of the energy of a comparably-sized, efficient modern building. The new home for the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies joins with two adjacent buildings to create a unified campus within a campus, establishing a highly visible center for the study of the environment at Yale.

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Constructed of stone, concrete, steel, and glass, it is sited between two neo-Gothic buildings on Yale's Science Hill. It forms two new courtyards, reintroducing the collegiate urban fabric of Yale’s core campus to Science Hill. The gabled roof recalls its neighbors while integrating photovoltaic solar collectors and skylights. The end walls are glass with wooden screens that offer sheltered views in both directions. The top floor is a cathedral space housing a conference center with large lecture hall, classrooms, and a cafe. The middle floors accommodate faculty offices, while the bottom floor has more classrooms and a library that lead out to the lower courtyard.

The Platinum rating from the U. S. Green Building Council is the highest attainable. Sustainable features include solar photovoltaic panels, ground source heat pumps, displacement air systems, high thermal retention, daylight harvesting, energy recovering ventilation, a rainwater collection and cleansing pond, a green roof, and recycled, local, and sustainable building materials.

Kroon Hall has received extensive media attention since opening in 2009 as well as 18 design awards, among them a design award from the Royal Institute of British Architects. The Architects’ Journal chose Kroon as its Building of the Year.

Centerbrook served as executive architect and collaborated on the project with the design architects, Hopkins Architects of London, and an all-star team of consultants including ARUP engineers, Atelier 10, Nitsch Engineering, Kalin Associates, and Olin Partnership.

“We love our new Kroon Hall. It is not only a feast for the eyes but a joy in which to work.” James Gustave Speth, former Dean, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
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PRESS & AWARDS

Awards

  • Sustainable Design Award, Boston Society of Architects
  • Diamond-Award Building/Technology Systems Award, American Council of Engineering Companies, New York Chapter
  • Evergreen Award for New Construction, Eco-Structure Magazine
  • Top Ten Green Building, National AIA COTE Awards
  • Design Award, Royal Institute of British Architects Award
  • Building of the Year, The Architects’ Journal
  • Design Award, Environmental Design + Construction Magazine
  • Silver Award, American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts
  • Award for Innovation in Sustainability, American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts
  • Most Intriguing Green Building, Connecticut Green Building Council
  • Tucker Design Award, Building Stone Institute
  • Citation, Beyond Green Building Awards, Sustainable Buildings Industry Council
  • Winner, 2010 Build Connecticut Awards, Associated General Contractors of Connecticut
  • Citation, Wood Design Awards, Wood Design & Building Magazine
  • Winner, International Interior Design Association and Metropolis Magazine, Smart Environments Awards
  • Design Award, AIA Connecticut
  • Honor Award, AIA New England
  • Award of Merit for New Construction, Connecticut Building Congress Project Team Awards