The University of Pennsylvania welcomed members of the Class of 2020 to its campus in Philadelphia last month, including the first residents of the recently-completed New College House at Hill Field (NCH). A 350-bed, undergraduate residential college, NCH features a dining facility, courtyard and ground floor retail space. “It’s the best College House ever on any university campus, designed from the get-go as a living, learning, and playing center,” enthused Penn President Amy Gutmann.
Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, CVM provided structural engineering for the project. The building features a high performance envelope, state-of-the-art rainwater catchment system, heat recovery systems, energy-efficient mechanical equipment and light fixtures and a recycling center. These elements allow NCH to receive half of its energy from sustainable sources, and the building was certified LEED Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council.