October 12, 2023
Yale Divinity School broke ground on the Living Village this month, a graduate student residential hall designed to be the largest living-building housing complex on a university campus. The Living Village project aims to exceed stringent sustainability standards while making a bold statement about the urgent need for environmentally conscious architecture in the face of climate change. Designed by Bruner/Cott and Höweler + Yoon, along with Andropogon Associates, the building is set to welcome its first residents in August 2025.
The development is a key element of Yale's Planetary Solutions initiative and adheres to the rigorous Living Building Challenge certification system. Dean Greg Sterling emphasized the project's significance, noting that it will substantially increase the school's capacity while embodying its core values. "It will set an agenda for the educational program of the school that will train students as apostles of the environment," Sterling remarked during the groundbreaking ceremony.
Eric Höweler, principal-in-charge for Höweler + Yoon, notes, "The Living Village represents a holistic architecture, one that extends beyond square footage and program, bricks, and steel, and gives profound consideration to the resources that architecture uses, the lives of the people that occupy it, and the values that it conveys. We are excited to see this collective vision become a reality.
The building will feature net-positive carbon, energy, and water footprints, utilize recycled and eco-friendly materials, and seamlessly integrate with existing structures to create a unified living and learning environment.
