Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Keene State College: TDS Center

  • 08/01/14
Keene State College: TDS Center

PHOTOS © CHUCK CHOI

In 2013, Keene State College’s Technology, Design and Safety Center (TDS Center) earned LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council/Green Building Certification Institute. This designation was given to the building based on its energy efficiency and the materials used to build the structure. The building was designed by Boston-based architecture firm Architerra and engineered by Rist Frost Shumway Engineering, based in Laconia, NH. The TDS Center is home to Keene State’s Sustainable Product Design and Innovation, Architecture, and Safety and Occupational Health Applied Sciences programs. As a result of the TDS Center’s energy efficiency, Keene State College is the third largest producer of solar energy on the Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) system.

“The TDS Center effectively integrates with our programs for effective teaching and learning — student learning was our top priority all along,” says Keene State’s vice president for Finance and Planning, Jay Kahn. “This building demonstrates sustainable design and construction, while providing a space that is welcoming to our campus community and the broader community. The TDS Center was created with these priorities in mind — the solar array, which was supported financially by businesses and organizations in our community, made it possible to achieve LEED Platinum certification.”

“It was a pleasure to work with the Keene State College administration and faculty and USNH [University System of New Hampshire] leadership. From day one, they insisted on an energy-efficient design. The secret triumph of this design is its conventional cost, popularity among students, opportunity to integrate the building into teaching curriculum and 60 percent modeled energy savings compared to a baseline building, met in part by an integrated solar array which is both cost-effective and educational,” says Ellen Watts, Architerra principal.

Keene State College is online at www.keene.edu.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Construction Begins on New University Research Vessel

    Boat-building company All American Marine recently announced that it has begun construction on a new catamaran research vessel for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) in Port Aransas, Texas, according to a news release.

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.

  • Kimball International Releases Curated Design Support Program

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced the launch of a new end-to-end design support program, DesignSuite. According to a news release, its goal is to guide architecture & design professionals and dealer partners through the process from vision to specification.

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).