College & University

Smith College
Engineering & Molecular Sciences Building
Northhampton, MA

This 140,000 SF facility will house the Picker Engineering Program, as well as the departments of computer science, chemistry, and molecular biology.

Smith’s new engineering and science building will centrally locate facilities for computation, simulation and modeling, surface analysis, and molecular analysis. Each will take advantage of support, skills, and software common across the disciplines and hold great potential, not simply for economizing, but for further cross-fertilization of ideas and strategies in science and engineering research.

Smith College is planning to achieve Silver Certification from the LEED Green Building Rating System for its new Molecular Science and Engineering Building. As part of Smith’s commitment to sustainability, van Zelm, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, and a student team from the Picker Engineering Program collaborated to design an onsite power conversion system to provide a significant portion of the building’s heat and electricity. The system combines four innovative technologies: fuel cells, biodiesel-fueled microturbines, photovoltaic solar panels, and thermal solar panels.