R.W. Kern Center

A living laboratory.

Home to Admissions, Financial Aid, the Kern café, and student and classroom spaces, the building also serves as a living laboratory where students and the faculty study its innovative systems and performance.

Designed by architects from Bruner/Cott and built by Hampshire alum Jonathan Wright, the Kern Center is the largest certified higher-education project in the world.

The R.W. Kern Center is the 17th certified Living Building in the world, an embodiment of Hampshire’s sustainability values in practice. It meets the stringent requirements of the world’s most advanced green building standard, the Living Building Challenge: it generates its own electricity, collects and treats its own water, and is built with local, non-toxic, and low-carbon materials.

Visit the R.W. Kern Center website to learn more about the building's operations and impact.