Arlington High School Earns LEED Platinum Certification
Arlington High School is HMFH’s third project to achieve LEED Platinum certification, demonstrating our deep commitment to creating healthy and resilient schools.
From the outset, a commitment to creating a healthy, energy-efficient, and resilient educational environment and to achieving the town’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 shaped the design of Arlington High School. Every square foot of the 1,755-student school was thoughtfully designed to minimize environmental impact and maximize educational and community benefits.
Natural & Tunable Light
Daylight was critical to creating a healthy and energy-efficient learning environment at Arlington High School. Curtain walls, windows, skylights, and dynamic, multi-story lightwells bring natural light into the most central spaces of the compact five-story building. Additionally, tunable lighting supports student well-being and academic performance. Offering adjustable color temperatures and intensities that mimic daylight, tunable lighting allows educators to customize classroom lighting according to specific activities and learning needs.
Learn more about the use of tunable lighting at Arlington High School
Carbon & Energy Impact
As an all-electric facility, no fossil fuels are burned on site to operate the building. With strategies including the use of low-carbon concrete, the school achieves a 9% reduction in embodied carbon relative to baseline. The use of Air-Source Heat Pumps, which supply fossil fuel free space heating and cooling, paired with careful zoning of the building based on educational and community program needs, limits the hours of operation for these units and significantly reduces the school’s energy use.
Pedestrian & Bike Access
The project welcomes the community and improves pedestrian and bicycle access on site by providing an inviting public plaza along Massachusetts Avenue with green space, benches, walkways, and ample bicycle parking. Additionally, the project provides a new, direct connection to the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, a 10-mile trail linking Arlington with other towns in Greater Boston.
Connection to Nature
The natural environment is woven into the learning environment through plentiful views and direct connections to outdoor spaces. An amphitheater supports large-scale outdoor gatherings and performances, a garage door in the makerspace opens to an outdoor work yard, a large central courtyard provides space for class work and social interactions, and a garden with an array of native plantings collects and stores rainwater, slowing stormwater runoff.
High-Performance Systems
Energy-efficient mechanical systems, daylighting, LED light fixtures, and a high-performance building envelope contribute to Arlington High School’s pEUI of 24.7 kBtu/sf/year, while photovoltaics reduce the building’s energy use by more than 30%. The school also features all low flow fixtures that conserve over 660,000 gallons of water per year.
