Project
Tobin Montessori Vassal Lane Upper Schools Project
Education K-12
Cambridge, MA | 2025
- 275K GSF
- 5 Companies
- 6 Professionals
About
As part of the Cambridge Public Schools’ Innovation Agenda, the project includes a 345,000 sf new facility to house the Tobin Montessori School, Vassal Lane Upper School, and the City Department of Human Services Preschool and After School Programs. The project includes classrooms, science labs, art rooms, music rooms, computer labs, OT/PT rooms, a 532-seat auditorium, kitchen/dining and athletic facilities, conference and administrative space, and an underground parking garage.
The building will operate with no onsite carbon emissions. Heating, air conditioning, and domestic hot water systems include all-electric heat pumps with a hybrid of geo-source and air-source energy. A 1,000 kW roof-mounted photovoltaic array reduces reliance on public utility electric power.
The HVAC design includes dedicated outdoor air systems, air-side energy recovery, demand-control ventilation, and high efficiency pumps and motors. The lighting design includes LED lighting and daylight monitoring with automated dimming, achieving a power density level approximately 30% below Code-allowed.
Project Owner
City of Cambridge
Is the project Net Zero Energy or Net Zero Energy Ready?
Net Zero (Targeting)
Project Size in GSF
275K
Category of height
Mid-Rise
How is the building all-electric for heating?
Air-source Heat Pump, Ground-source Heat Pump
What other systems are used for heating?
Fossil Fuel (Emergency Backup or Lab/Healthcare Only)
Is the service hot water all-electric?
Yes
What is the primary system type for domestic hot water?
Ground-source heat pump
What other systems are used for hot water?
Electric resistance instantaneous
On-site renewable energy
33%
Is the owner purchasing off-site renewable energy to offset all electricity consumption?
Yes
The construction cost difference from "conventional" to being net zero "ready" (including incentives) for this building is
We didn't calculate the cost premium
Certifications related to Energy / Carbon
LEED
Site EUI Energy Use Intensity is the amount of energy a project uses per square foot over the course of a year. Site EUI = Annual Energy Use (kBtus) / Building(s) Area (ft²) / One Year (yr)
26.5 kBtu/sf/year
Net Site EUI
17.9 kBtu/sf/year
The EUI is
Modeled
What is the climate zone for this project?
5A Cool Humid
