The Castle Project entails the renovation and expansion of “The Castle”, the massive stone centerpiece of the Noble and Greenough campus. It was originally the Nickerson family residence designed by H.H. Richardson in 1890. As part of the project, a new Servery wraps the castle’s west end, featuring formerly exterior stone walls dramatically washed with daylight. Two splayed wings hide the kitchen while featuring the new dining hall and curving terrace. Timber beams, plated trusses, and deep coffers echo the castle’s baronial detailing. Decorative wood panels fabricated with 21st century laser technology display patterns adapted from Richardson’s Trinity Church and Stonehurst to blend and enhance the castle’s original 19th century hand-carved woodwork. The project more than doubled the existing dining facility – increasing the capacity from 200 to 400 seats, expanded the kitchen, adding six additional walk-in refrigerators and freezers, and provided a new Servery, dish drop, and recycling facilities. The project also increased the number of faculty apartments from 12 to 17, a near 50% increase, and expanded both kitchen and laundry facilities. To accommodate these energy-intensive program requirements, the castle project was designed with iterative energy modeling, passive solar strategies, a high-performance envelope, energy efficient systems, a solar thermal array, and energy conservation measures – resulting in the zero net impact on overall campus energy use as modeled. This integrated high-performance design included a high-efficiency gas boiler, radiant heating, a direct outside air system, extensive energy recovery including refrigeration heat recovery, variable speed kitchen hoods, and energy-efficient appliances, while having the beautifully crafted interiors of the original building restored and upgraded with modern HVAC, lighting, and fire protection systems. The castle’s sustainable transformation achieves higher performance and promotes the Noble and Greenough School’s values to serve the public good, while also preserving this historic campus icon and architectural treasure.

The new addition achieved Gold LEED status, which recognizes the goal of accomplishing no increase to the campus energy load, despite the addition of significant energy loads and water consumption typically associated with cafeterias and faculty residences.