Green Buildings in Cambridge
City Green Building Policy
Green Building/Zoning Task Force
The City encourages development of green buildings as a strategy to achieve Cambridge’s goal to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
A Green Building/Zoning Task Force is currently working to analyze various approaches and to encourage energy efficient building practices. Key issues that the group will look at include adopting green building requirements such as LEED criteria for large scale developments, approach to green roofs, solar access, and identifying and addressing any impediments to building green in the zoning ordinance.
Go
to the Green Building/Zoning Task Force
Municipal Buildings
It is City policy that all new construction and major renovation of municipal building projects follow the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system. Cambridge City Hall Annex, at 344 Broadway, was the City’s first green building and achieved a LEED Gold rating. There are currently 4 projects in design or construction that intend to achieve LEED certification including the Cambridge Public Library expansion, Robert W. Healy Public Safety Facility, West Cambridge Youth & Community Center, and the War Memorial renovation. In addition, the proposed renovation of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School has received a $100,000 green schools design grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
Private Buildings
The Cambridge Planning Board encourages developers to use the LEED rating system under the Project Review guidelines of the Zoning Ordinance (see Article 19.33).
Go
to Article 19 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance.
LEED Recognized Green Buildings in Cambridge
LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving environmental performance, including energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. The LEED program was developed by the U. S. Green Building Council. LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
There are several types of LEED standards. Following the links to learn more from the U. S. Green Building Council web site:
There
are other LEED standards that are not yet found in Cambridge projects. Go to the U. S. Green Building Council to Learn
more about LEED.
This map shows the locations of all Cambridge buildings that have received LEED recognition as of July 2009. Listed projects are either registered or certified. Registration serves as a declaration of intent to certify a building under the LEED rating system. Certified projects are those that have met the appropriate LEED standard. LEED certified projects meet one of four performance tiers: Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
Key to map:
| LEED Registered | LEED Certified (Bronze) | LEED Silver | LEED Gold | LEED Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Green Building Case Studies
Most of these case studies are in PDF format and require use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer:
Green Building Cell Phone Tour of City Hall Annex
The Museum of Science is launching a unique program to showcase the stories and features of local communities’ green buildings. The public can learn about the motivations, challenges, and successes of green building projects in and around Boston through the use of their cell phones. The City Hall Annex is featured on the tour. Visitors to the Annex can hear from the building’s planners and architects to get a behind-the-scenes perspective and learn about the exciting green features.
For
more information visit the Museum of Science Green Trail web page.
Follow
this link for more information about the City Hall Annex.
For More Information
For more information about climate protection activities in Cambridge please contact John Bolduc, Environmental Planner, jbolduc@cambridgema.gov, at 617/349-4628.
For more information about the use of LEED standards by the Cambridge Planning Board, please contact Iram Farooq by phone at 617/349-4606 or by email at ifarooq@cambridgema.gov.
The Community Development Department TTY line is 617/349-4621.
Return
to Climate Protection Initiatives
Return
to Environmental and Transportation Planning Division
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Development Department Home
