Health Professions & Student Services Building
North Shore Community College / DCAMM
The new Health Professions and Student Services Building at North Shore Community College (NSCC) is Massachusetts’ first state-owned net-zero energy building. In addition to achieving LEED Gold certification, the building generates as much power as it consumes in one year. The three-story academic building houses nursing education, occupational therapy classrooms, animal grooming classrooms, a student computer laboratory, student support spaces, and health science teaching labs.
“The Walsh Brothers team was able to help guide us through this process with honest advice, recommendations and leadership. The end result is not only the second largest zero net energy building in the country, but also a building that will meet the academic programming needs of our health professions programs for years to come.”
President
North Shore Community College
The sustainable goals set for this project were ambitious. Solar photovoltaic systems were installed on the main roof of the building and on walkway canopies in the parking lot to capture sunlight and turn it into energy. The system was designed to match and offset energy consumed in the building with solar energy produced throughout the course of a year. Additionally, 50 geothermal wells use the relatively constant earth temperature to provide heating and cooling for the building. The green roof increases insulation of the building and was installed with the aid of the students from the Essex Agriculture School. The 15,000-gallon gray-water system captures rainwater in a holding tank that is then used to flush toilets and irrigate the plantings. Chilled J-beams and daylighting also lessen the demand on natural resources. This groundbreaking project is currently being used as a benchmark for today’s energy-efficient facilities.
Photo Credits: Robert Benson Photography
LOCATION
Danvers, MA
ARCHITECT
DiMella Shaffer
LEED
Zero-Net Energy Building, LEED Gold Certified
AWARDS
CMAA New England New Construction Project of the Year
