Carleton College Residence Halls

Higher Ed Projects: +

Project Type: New Construction and Student Housing; Northfield, MN

Completion Date: 2009 

Recognition:  

LEED NC Gold Certified

2010 Minnesota Construction Association: Best Sustainable Project and Best Project over $10 Million 

2010 Aggregates and Ready Mix of Minnesota: First Place, Large Commercial Application 

2010 Finance and Commerce Top Projects

LHB worked with Carleton College on the planning and design of new residence halls that house 230 students in two buildings, one with suite-style units and the second with more traditional dorm-style units. The four- story stone and brick buildings were designed in the Collegiate Gothic style to assimilate with the campus context and sited to create a quad with usable open space and views. Sustainability was a goal for the design and construction of the 90,000 SF project. This is the first residence hall project in the state to achieve LEED for new construction gold certification. 

Sustainable site features include a landscape design with native vegetation and rain gardens, as well as parking lots with porous pavers and preferred parking spaces for fuel-efficient vehicles and carpools. Energy efficiency is a top priority for Carleton; features include high efficiency lighting with daylight and occupancy sensors, building envelopes constructed of insulated concrete forms for increased thermal performance, a radiant in-floor heating system, a solar thermal hot water system, photovoltaic panels, and real-time energy and water usage monitoring. The design team conserved resources by specifying regionally manufactured materials with recycled content, using high volume fly ash in all concrete, selecting low-flow plumbing fixtures, and requiring that over 90% of construction waste be diverted from landfills. A high indoor environmental quality is achieved by radon mitigation systems in each building, materials with low-emitting volatile organic compounds, and natural daylighting and views in all rooms.