Smith Building Designers Receive Awards

The designers of two recent Smith constructions received awards this week.

Clark Science Center Renovation

R. E. Dinneen Architects & Planners, Inc., and RDK Engineers, two firms based in Boston that collaborated on the Clark Science Center renovation, were given the 2013 Award of Excellence for Best Practice-Large Project from the International Facility Management Association. The annual award recognizes outstanding achievements and exceptional contributions to the advancement of the facilities management profession.

The Clark Science Center renovation, which transformed 163,000 square feet in Sabin-Reed and Burton halls, took place during 18 months starting in summer 2011, and included roof replacements, new wiring and sprinkler systems, upgrades of equipment, new windows and signage, and an exterior courtyard.

Bechtel Environmental Classroom

Bruce Coldham, of Coldham and Hartman Architects in Amherst, Mass., the lead architectural firm for Smith’s Bechtel Environmental Classroom, received the Living Building Hero Award from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), which advocates and promotes green building and infrastructure solutions worldwide. Coldham won the award for his service in creating living buildings, the Bechtel Classroom prominent among them.

The Bechtel Environmental Classroom is a 2,300-square-foot learning center, constructed in 2012 at the Ada and Archibald MacLeish Field Station in Whately. The building gained attention for its design, as part of the Living Building Challenge, (which is administered by ILFI), to generate all of its own energy with renewable resources, and to develop its own water system.

The environmental classroom was funded by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.