Construction of the Holcim Awards winning net-zero energy greenhouse at Wellesley College, USA was completed in 2019. Sustainable design is at the very core of the structure, form, and system – meeting sustainability metrics as a matter of course and then goes much further to achieve a virtuosity of integration. The Global Flora conservatory at the Margaret C Ferguson Greenhouses will open to the general public when renovation of the Science Center is completed, planned for early 2022. More than 1,000 varieties of plants are housed in the bio-friendly greenhouse – and are showing signs of handling the transition well.

Greenhouses have a very long history of providing microclimates for plants dating back to the Romans. Nevertheless, they can be completely rethought – as evidenced by the very ambitious project for a net zero greenhouse on a college campus.

As one of the three main Holcim Awards winners for North America in 2017, “Global Flora” automatically qualified as a finalist in the Global Holcim Awards 2018. All 15 finalist project teams were asked to submit an updated and more comprehensive entry that was evaluated by a global jury in March 2018. 

View project entry posters – Global Holcim Awards

The results of the global phase of the 5th Holcim Awards competition were announced on March 28, 2018.

Read full media release – Global Holcim Awards 2018

Sustainability has become a core principle of architecture and construction in North America. Winners of the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction presented in Chicago show how the leading edge of sustainable design means reaching far beyond “common sense”. Their approaches use proven instruments that are cleverly applied to improve the quality of life. So the world builds better.

This project is an expansion of the botanical collection at Wellesley College. It is conceived as an educational link between the institution and the community. This project reimagines the greenhouse – typically an energy- and water-intensive program – as a net zero energy building. Particular care is taken to source all materials for the projects locally and with low resource intensity both for construction and operations. The lightweight pillow cladding weighs just three percent of what the same area would out of typical insulated glass. The three biomes – dry, temperate, and humid – help support each other through passive air and heat exchange. 

Global Flora’s sustainable design strategies strengthen the collective public realm

The sustainable use of living soils connects Global Flora plant specimens to local topography and ecosystems, enhancing Campus use as a public resource. An innovative Interactive Platform provides real time air, water, soil and energy status, expanding public access for on-site and online users. Instead of being bounded by a lot line, Global Flora creates a precinct of shared clean energy and water exchanges that remediate the natural landscape and improve land use, value and the sustainability of renovated and new Science buildings. Repurposed masonry, stone and wood from Campus and region-sourced ETFE cladding minimize embodied and operational energy. Global Flora meets living building net zero challenges with intelligent, passive design and humid air transfer between biomes.