Hampshire College and design firm Bruner/Cott & Associates announce that the R.W. Kern Center on Hampshire’s campus has been certified as a Living Building by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). The 17,000-square-foot center joins just 16 other Living Buildings certified to date and is the largest Living Certified higher-education project in the world. This certification, which is the most advanced green-building standard in the world, will be officially recognized at the Living Future unConference in Portland, Ore., May 1-4, the leading event for regenerative design.

Architects from Bruner/Cott partnered with Jonathan Wright, founder and senior advisor of Wright Builders Inc. and a Hampshire alumnus, who served as construction manager for the project. Its $10.4 million cost, including $7.4 million in construction, was fully funded by donations from more than 100 donors, led by the Kern family and Hampshire alumnus William “Bill” Kern.