Architect Kyu Sung Woos newly opened graduate housing complex for Harvard University in Cambridge, MA has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The 115,000 sq ft Akron Street project features green-minded finishes including regionally-sourced siding with recycled content; renewable bamboo flooring and wall paneling, and low-VOC finishes; building systems are designed and engineered to minimize energy usage. Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates designed a graceful seasonal garden with groupings of trees and clumped plantings native to New England, connecting the courtyard to the riverfront terrace. In the courtyard, serrated and diagonally laid paving edged with large river smoothed rocks recall peaceful stone gardens.

The Akron Street project is a part of University's ongoing effort to house 50 percent of its graduate, professional and doctoral students, further supporting a strong residential campus community and helping to alleviate pressure on the local housing market. The scheme houses 215 beds in over 30 different suite types, and includes a faculty directors suite, a fitness room, study lounge spaces, a multipurpose room, and a garage that extends under the building, its courtyard, and a new public open space along Memorial Drive.