Design Profile | Green Building - Muhlenberg College Fahy Commons

The first new building constructed on the Muhlenberg College campus since 2006, The Fahy Commons is an embodiment of the institution’s deep commitment to sustainability. In addition to achieving LEED Platinum certification and PHIUS +2021, the multi-purpose 20,000-square-foot building is the first project in the world to achieve Core Living Building Challenge Certification. Carbon is a core value of this certification and The Fahy Commons addresses this through three primary levers. First, the building has limited its embodied carbon by reducing its overall size 20 percent through multi-program overlap of spaces and a logical design optimizing space allocations. The building superstructure, which is typically more than half of a building’s embodied carbon, has been constructed utilizing low-carbon concrete and steel. Foam has been eliminated from wall and subslab insulation in favor of mineral wool and foam glass aggregate. In addition, the interior of the building limits extraneous materials and favors natural materials such as wood. Secondly, the building has reduced its operational carbon through the creation of an ultra energy-efficient Passive House building enclosure that allows for an HVAC system 1/3 smaller than industry standards that provides 100 percent outside air ventilation. Combined with a 73 kW photovoltaic array, the building has reduced its annual energy use 90 percent over baseline. Finally, the project is actively sequestering living carbon via a half hectare of habitat restoration.  

Project: Muhlenberg College Fahy Commons  

Location: Allentown, PA  

Client: Muhlenberg College  

Project Size: 21,000 square feet 

Project Team:  
Re:Vision Architect (Architect and Sustainability Consultant)  

ThinkGreen (Landscape Architect) 

Keystone Consulting Engineers (Civil Engineering)  

O'Donnel Naccarato (Structural Engineer) 

BSEG (Systems Engineer) 

Cloud Gehshan (Signage and Graphics) 

Whiting Turner (Construction Manager) 

Feather Friendly (Bird-Safe Glazing) 

Photos: Re:Vision and Don Pearse