WORCESTER DINING COMMONS RENOVATION

BUILDING OVERVIEW

SUSTAINABLE FEATURES

RESOURCES

BUILDING OVERVIEW

LEED Certified Gold 

The new 87,000 square foot Worcester Commons includes a first-floor retail café, grab-n -go, the campus’ commercial bakery, lounge spaces and a small fitness center. The dining commons is on the second floor with seating for approximately 800. The third floor is home to a full-service restaurant and bar, a Student Life suite that features soundproof music practice rooms, meeting spaces for student groups and a contemplative space, as well as office space for Auxiliary Enterprises. The outdoor space on the west side has a plaza for gathering, eating and events. 

For Worcester Dining Commons' LEED Gold certification, both the design and build integrated sustainable features, materials and practices, including electrochromic glass for most south- and west-facing windows to improve the comfort of the interior space and reduce energy needed to heat and cool the building, laminate wood frames for the windows, high-efficiency exhaust hoods, energy recovery systems to capture heat waste, low-maintenance landscaping, locally sourced construction materials and some recycled construction materials, such as the large wooden dining tables in the main dining spaces.

SUSTAINABLE FEATURES

Sustainable Sites

• The building is serviced regularly by the PVTA bus system and located within a quarter mile of basic community services including a park, museum, and fitness center 
• Bicycle racks are located at main entrances in effort to reduce automobile dependence
• Walkable to a library, restaurants, retail, and other core community services
• The building location maximizes open space of surrounding site 

Water Efficiency

• 42% reduction in potable water usage
• Building level metering

Energy & Atmosphere

• 42% reduction in potable water usage
• 48.5% Overall energy performance optimization 
• Enhanced commisioning ensurs building systems perform as intended post-occupancy
• Select refrigerants used to minimize contributions to global warming and ozone depletion
• Advanced whole-building energy metering
• Electrochromic glass responds to sun intensity improving comfort of interior spaces while reducing energy needed to heat and cool the building

Materials & Resources

• 10% of building materials sourced regionally within 500 miles
• 10% of building materials contain recycled content and were extracted, processed and manufactured regionally

Indoor Environmental Air Quality

• CO2 sensors ensure adequate fresh air is provided to densely occupied spaces
• 20% or more of the design supply airflow services non-densely occupied spaces
• Thermal comfort survey to be administered to occupants following project completion
• Interior spaces deisgned with low-emitting paints and floor coverings

Innovation In Design

• Active green-building education programs share building's sustainbility features
• Green Housekeeping Program in place
• Project undertaken on a Difficult Development Area (DDA)

RESOURCES