On Thursday, April 16, 2026, Swarthmore College will host a series of events highlighting the sustainable design of Martin Hall and the Dining and Community Commons, as well as the College’s To Zero By Thirty-Five energy plan. The events are free and open to the public. Pre-registration through Green Building United is required for all events except for drop-in tours of Martin Hall.
The former Martin Biological Laboratory is a 1936 Art Deco building that has been renovated and expanded to house the Computer Science Department, the Film and Media Studies Department, and the Creative Media Commons. The College is pursuing Living Building Challenge (LBC) Core Certification for the project. The renovated and expanded Martin Hall opened for the Fall 2025 semester.
Attendees can select sessions to attend throughout the day. You do NOT have to register for the full-day of activities.
Coffee and tea will be served
Presented by project landscape architects Sarah Miller and Richard Newton of OLIN.
This tour will explore the collaborative design process of Martin Hall’s landscape, highlighting how its outdoor spaces respond to the building’s location between the three academic performing arts facilities and an ecologically rich woodland edge.
This tour qualifies for one (1) LA CES PDH and one (1) AIA LU.
On the hour, a College representative will lead drop-in visitors on a tour of Martin Hall, highlighting the building’s sustainability feature.
Classes are in session, so the tour route will be conducted to avoid disturbing classes. Visitors may not walk through on their own. Meet outside of the North Quad entrance on the hour at 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, and 2 pm.
Pre-registration for the drop-in tours is not required.
Presented by project architects Jefferson Poole and Elaine Hoffman of Goody Clancy, this presentation provides an inside look at Martin Hall as an early case study in pursuing LBC Core certification. The presentation will focus on how the LBC Core program impacted the design of the building, and how specific strategies were adopted and implemented to achieve the aspirational design goals of the College.
This presentation qualifies for one (1) AIA LU.
Tour will visit Swarthmore College’s two recently completed buildings which are targeting Living Building Challenge Certification: the Dining and Community Commons (DCC) and Martin Hall Renovation and Addition. In addition, the tour will visit the College’s geoexchange plant to discuss the Two Zero By Thirty-five energy plan, which uses a low temperature hot water, geoexchange well system for campus heating/cooling and eliminating fossil fuel use. Tour will be led by Andy Feick, Associate Vice President of Sustainable Facilities Operations, and Beth Smith of the Aegis Property Group.
This tour qualifies for one (1) AIA LU.
Participants will be given a guided tour of Martin Hall and learn how the building and its landscape were designed to have a positive impact on the larger natural, campus, and human systems that they contribute to. Tour will be led by Goody Clancy, the project architects.
This tour qualifies for one (1) LA CES PDH and one (1) AIA LU.
Beer, non-alcoholic beverages, and light appetizers will be served.
Photo Credit: Halkin Mason Photography
