In Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College has committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2035. This concept inspired the DLR Group's design of the university's Dining and Community Commons building: a 60,000 square foot mass timber, all-electric, net-zero ready building that seats 800 people. Completed with a rooftop PV system and subterranean geo-exchange system that together power heating and cooling campus-wide, Jim Terhube, the Vice President and Dean of Students, describes the project as "much more than a building; it represents an opportunity to reimagine how we live in community with one another.”
Collaboration
DLR Group's vision for the building was shaped by the college's sustainability framework and through engagement with those using the building: students, staff and faculty. This collaborative, research-driven approach included more than 55 campus-wide meetings, among them over 500 one-on-one student interviews, focus groups, open forums on sustainability and food service, and town halls with faculty and staff.
Design
The new Dining and Community Commons building combines the renovation of Swarthmore College’s existing Sharples Dining Hall with a new 42,000-square-foot mass-timber dining centre. The design strategy was developed around retaining and extending the existing campus facilities, with the works phased to maintain the operation of the dining program. By using mass timber in place of a conventional steel structure, the architects say that they reduced the project’s embodied carbon by nearly 300 metric tonnes.
Geo-Exchange Plant
As the first new building since the College committed to its carbon neutral promise, the construction integrates the infrastructure required for Swarthmore's wider energy strategy. A 14,000-square-foot geo-exchange plant is housed beneath the new dining centre, with the building structure and foundations designed to accommodate its ventilation, access and service connections to the surrounding well field.
Solar PV System
The all-electric building features a curved roof with a 12-foot south facing overhang that provides passive shading while creating the optimal conditions for a PV array. This rooftop installation generates roughly 40% of the building's electricity needs. The building also features radiant in-floor heating and cooling supported by a central geo-exchange system that serves the wider campus, extracting heat from buildings in summer and storing it underground for use in winter.
"While peer dining facilities operate at an average energy use intensity of 500 kBtu/SF/yr, this project targets 300 for kitchens and 50 for non-kitchen spaces, averaging 85 kBtu/SF/yr overall."
— DLR Group
Biophilic design
Inside, the timber structure is largely left exposed, allowing the structural system to become part of the architectural character of the dining spaces rather than being concealed behind additional finishes. Large-scale windows bring the outdoors into the new mass timber dining hall, providing full-height views of the Scott Arboretum and helping connect the site to nature. As the architects explain, mass timber is proven to slow "the release of stress hormones, reduces depression, fatigue and anxiety, thus transforming the working environment for dining staff and providing peaceful respite for students." The landscaped area beside the building features 100 seats for further enjoyment of the outdoors.
