ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The accolades keep stacking for Muhlenberg College’s newest building — this time, with a first-in-the-world designation.
The Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation is now the first to achieve Core Living Building Certification, officials announced Monday — a rigorous sustainability certification for buildings that reward housing efforts that produce more energy than they use.
“This certification is an enormous honor for the college as well as an important recognition of our institutional commitment to educate, inspire and lead by example,” said Kathleen Harring, Muhlenberg’s president, in a news release.
“Fahy Commons has quickly become a beloved hub on campus, sought after by our students and campus community members, whether for academic or creative pursuits, a tranquil study environment or the opportunity to feel closer to nature.”
The first new building on Muhlenberg’s campus in more than a decade, Fahy Commons, 2400 W. Chew St., on March 26 was named the first project in the world to achieve the certification, administered by the International Living Future Institute, or ILFI.
The 20,000-square-foot, three-floor building cost $13.2 million. It opened to students in January 2023 and sits on land that once held a fraternity house.
As an innovative building in sustainable design and operation, our new Fahy Commons does exactly that for all who enter it because of the visibility of its many sustainable features.Rich Niesenbaum, professor of biology and director of Muhlenberg’s sustainability studies program
“I firmly believe that buildings on a college's campus can and should do more than simply house students and academic endeavors, but rather also offer teachable moments,” said Rich Niesenbaum, professor of biology and director of Muhlenberg’s sustainability studies program. “As an innovative building in sustainable design and operation, our new Fahy Commons does exactly that for all who enter it because of the visibility of its many sustainable features.
“For students in sustainability studies, it has become a living laboratory for experiential learning as they monitor and assess the building's sustainable performance.”
Inside Fahy Commons
With more than 180 solar panels and a 10,000-gallon rainwater cistern, Fahy Commons is designed to give more than it takes.
The building’s triple-paned windows are dotted — smaller ones with a film, while the larger ones are acid-etched — to lessen bird impacts. Bee bricks were also placed outside the building, creating homes for the native insects.
There are features integrated for human use as well, including high-efficiency lighting, heating and cooling systems, outdoor classroom and event spaces, and sustainable options for commuters, including an on-site shower and electric vehicle charging stations.
In addition to holding the schools of graduate and continuing studies, the building also houses the office of community engagement, art studio spaces, the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program.
Construction on the building was funded through a donation. In 2020, Gerald P. Fahy, a 1979 Muhlenberg graduate, and his wife, Cathleen, donated $7.5 million to the college — the largest personal gift in the institution’s history.
'A regenerative future'
The International Living Future Institute is a nonprofit focused on regenerative buildings with climate resilience, health and equity in mind.
“Our work is driven by a belief that a compelling vision for the future is needed to reconcile humanity’s relationship with the natural world,” according to the organization’s website. “Over the past decade, the institute has served as an incubator for more than 180 regenerative buildings that have achieved certification.
“Individually, these examples cause ripples that show what’s possible. Collectively, they envision a regenerative future.”
ILFI has certifications for living buildings, products and communities, as well as zero energy and carbon.
“The Living Building Challenge is a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program defining today’s most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment,” according to ILFI’s website. “It addresses all buildings at all scales and is an inclusive tool for transformative design. Whether the project is a single building, a renovation, an infrastructure project or a park, the Living Building Challenge provides a framework for designing, constructing and improving the symbiotic relationships between people and all aspects of the built and natural environments.”
The challenge is organized into seven performance areas, including: place, water, energy, health + happiness, material, equity and beauty.
Last summer, Fahy Commons was named a LEED Platinum-certified structure by the U.S. Green Building Council, officials said. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system worldwide.
The certification is just the latest award for the building, which has already been named a winner of the international 2023 METROPOLIS Planet Positive Awards. Fahy Commons also won the Sustainable New Development or Major Renovation category in the Green Building United 2023 Groundbreaker Awards.
