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Crotty Hall (2016)
Crotty Hall is the first net-zero energy building on the UMass Amherst campus and houses the Department of Economics from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The building is designed to produce as much energy as it consumes. And at the time of its completion, Crotty Hall was one of just 20 net-zero office buildings in the United States. The 16,800 S.F. academic building was designed by Sigrid Miller-Pollin of the Architecture Department and contains four conference rooms, 35 graduate faculty offices, common areas, and other amenities. The primary goal of the project was to create an economics campus and provide new opportunities to strengthen teaching and research across the department.
Crotty Hall brings together the Economics Department to promote synergy and facilitate cooperative work amongst faculty and graduate students. The project was financed through a $10 million private gift to the Department of Economics. The building is dedicated to James Crotty, an economist at UMass, and his wife Pamela Crotty, a longtime town meeting member. Located on North Pleasant Street at the southern gateway to campus, Crotty Hall aims to unite the university and Town of Amherst community. The project represents another step in UMass Amherst’s long-term expansion plan and sets a high standard for future sustainable development.
Building Information
Address: 412 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01002-2900
Completed: Fall 2016
Size: 16,800 GSF
Designer / Architect: Miller Pollin Architecture
Landscape Architect: Stephen Stimson Associates
Net Zero Energy Consultant: Transsolar, Inc.
Construction Manager: Larry Rideout
Owner's Project Manager:
UMass Project Manager:
UMass Project Planners:
Sustainability
Resources
Indoor Air Quality
- Air handling unit (AHU) supplies ventilation to all interior spaces to satisfy occupant demand for fresh air
Innovation in Design
- Main corridor expands and contracts at periodic intervals to counteract the slender plan design
- Orient offices inward to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between faculty and staff
Water Efficiency
- Rainwater is collected by the roof system to irrigate the terraced rain gardens on the north side of the building
- Gardens collect, cleanse, and infiltrate stormwater naturally onsite
- Stormwater management strategy provides ideal conditions for plants, while removing pollutants from surface runoff.
Sustainable Sites
- Bicycle racks located at main entrances to reduce dependency on automobiles
- Shower and changing facilities available to building occupants who bike in
Energy & Atmosphere
- Large fan housed in the roof system draws heated exhaust air up and out of the building
- Ground source heat pump connected to eight underground geothermal wells provide heating or cooling to building resulting in efficiency gains
- Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems monitored and controlled using the Johnson Controls Metasys™ Building Automation System (BAS)
- Occupancy sensors detect motion and automatically turn off lights when rooms are unoccupied
- sensors use exterior temperature and humidity conditions to regulate interior HVAC temperatures
- Frosted glass doors and transom windows filter indirect natural daylight into the lobby and central corridor
- Overhead LED light fixtures masked with translucent acrylic paneling provide additional ambient lighting
- Cedar wood wall paneling creates feeling of warmth and openness
- High performance building envelope with heavily insulated floor, wall, and roof assemblies
- Floor - composite cross-laminated timber (CLT) system (2x4 wood beams covered with three and a half inches of poured concrete)
- Wall - perimeter walls are 2x6 panelized wood frame system with rigid foam board insulation and two-tone zinc exterior cladding (assembly rated at R-45)
- Roof - light colored design with high solar reflectance index (SRI) to reflect heat minimizing urban heat island effects
- Tinted glass on south- and west-facing walls reduce glare and solar heat gain
Photo Gallery
- Courtesy of Transsolar | 
- Courtesy of Transsolar |
- Courtesy of Miller Pollin Architecture | 
Crotty Hall (Left) and Gordon Hall (Right) - Courtesy of Larry Kelley |
- Courtesy of Daily Hampshire Gazette | 
- Courtesy of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian |
- Courtesy of UMass Amherst News & Media Relations | 
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- Courtesy of Transsolar | 
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- Courtesy of Transsolar | 
- Courtesy of Daily Hampshire Gazette |
Media
Articles
New Building for Economics Department at UMass Amherst is Net-Zero Energy
American School & University - 4/20/2017
UMass Amherst Celebrates Economics Department's New, Net-Zero Crotty Hall
UMass Amherst News & Media Relations - 3/22/2017
Slideshow: Crotty Hall
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian - 3/22/2017
Crotty Hall - Ribbon Cutting
Transsolar - 3/21/2017
First Net-Zero Building at UMass Will Open Next September
Emily Johnson Blog - 12/10/2015
Gordon Hall & Crotty Hall
Political Economy Research Institute
Julian Fischer Frank: Crotty Hall at UMass Should Be Model Building
Amherst Bulletin - 4/1/2017
UMass Dedicates New Net-Zero Economics Department Building
Daily Hampshire Gazette - 3/22/2017
First Net Zero Energy Building on Campus
UMass Amherst Magazine, Fall 2015 - 5/17/2016
Amherst Planning Board Approves Crotty Hall to House Political Economy Research Institute at UMass
Daily Hampshire Gazette - 2/23/2015
UMass Amherst Architecture Professor Sigrid Miller Pollin Receives BSA Women in Design Award of Excellence
UMass Amherst News & Media Relations - 11/10/2017
UMass Amherst Set to Open $10 Million Economics Building
The Boston Globe - 3/22/2017
UMass Dedicates On-Site Net-Zero Building, Even As Remote 4-MW Solar Roof Goes Live
Energy Manager Today - 3/27/2017
Crotty Hall, Amherst, MA
Transsolar - n.d.