Yale University’s LEED-Platinum Kroon Hall is a Model of Sustainable Architecture

Reflecting the values of the <a href="http://environment.yale.edu/kroon/design.php">Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies</a>, which is located within its walls, <a href="http://environment.yale.edu/kroon/design.php">Kroon Hall</a> is designed as a model for <a href="http://inhabitat.com/sustainable-building/">sustainable building</a>. To create this inspiring building, Yale brought together a dream team of some of the world’s leading architects and engineers: <a href="http://www.hopkins.co.uk/s/">Hopkins Architects</a>, <a href="http://www.centerbrook.com/">Centerbrook Architects and Planners</a>, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/arup/">ARUP</a>, <a href="http://www.atelierten.com/">Atelier Ten</a>, and <a />The Olin Studio</a>. Following Yale University’s sustainability mission, Kroon Hall is designed to use 58 percent less energy than a comparably-sized modern building.

It uses a very interesting technique to provide the heating and cooling: The lowest floor is set into a hillside, with only its south side exposed, hence providing thermal insulation, minimizing northern exposure, and increasing the amount of natural light that enters the building from adjacent courtyards. The long south facade maximizes solar exposure during the winter.

The tall façade mainly covered with glass ensures maximum natural light. Light and occupancy sensors dim the artificial light whenever there is ample daylight.

Most of Kroon Hall’s red oak paneling—15,000 board feet—came from the 7,840-acre Yale-Myers Forest in northern Connecticut, which is managed by the School and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

Concrete is used all over the building to provide for insulation against temperature variations. Fifty percent of the concrete mix is blast slag, a postindustrial recycled material.

An innovative system of ventilation, an energy-saving displacement ventilation system moves warm and cool air through an air plenum and multiple diffusers in elevated floors. Low-velocity fans in the basement keep the air circulating throughout the building.

A 100-kilowatt rooftop array of photovoltaic panels provides about 25 percent of the electricity for the building. So one can safely say that Kroon Hall is an epitome of sustainability, using renewable energy in every form possible. Hopefully this building should lead by example, and we see many such innovative yet simple applications of green technology in architecture.