Smith College Breaks Ground on Career and Leadership Development Facility

Smith College will break ground in March of 2024 on the $32 million Kathleen McCartney Hall in Northampton, Mass. Designed by TenBerke, the sustainably designed facility will house the Lazarus Center for Career Development and the Wurtele Center for Leadership in a dynamic hub where students can explore future possibilities and acquire new skills. The 15,000-sf building will provide eight open work areas, interview rooms, collaboration spaces, advising offices, and areas for recruiting events and seminars. Furthering the college’s mission to promote equity and inclusion, the project will fortify Smith’s academic pathways with access to applied learning experiences such as internships, certification programs, and participation in professional networks.

Integrating mass timber components, the high-performance structure will feature extensive glazing, low-VOC materials and finishes, and a landscaped terrace encircled by a living roof. The net-zero-ready development is expected to achieve a 63 percent reduction in energy use as compared to the AIA 2030 baseline and will connect to a campus-wide geothermal system that is currently under construction. A network of pedestrian routes will ensure universal access on the site, which will offer new outdoor settings for learning and exchange.

The project team includes engineering firms Thornton Tomasetti, Altieri, Nitsch Engineering, and Shen Milsom & Wilke. Ellana is acting as cost estimator with R.W. Sullivan as code consultant and MNLA as landscape architect. Completion is expected in 2025.