37 HILLHOUSE AVENUE

Yale gets its first CLT building

Academic

All

Historic Preservation

Workplace

Once praised by Mark Twain and Charles Dickens as “the most beautiful street in America,” Yale University’s Hillhouse Avenue is lined with some of the institution’s most celebrated 19th-century buildings. In 1985, it was designated the Hillhouse Avenue Historic District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1866, 37 Hillhouse Avenue is a Victorian Italian Villa listed on the State of Connecticut’s Register of Historic Places. It has served many roles—from student apartments where George H.W. Bush once lived to housing various academic departments. In 2022, we were engaged to bring it into the 21st Century, as it had reached the end of its functional life and needed comprehensive renovation and expansion to accommodate the Department of Linguistics, Data-Intensive Social Science Center (DISSC) and Center for Geospatial Solutions.

Awards
AIA CT, Merit Award, Historic Preservation/Adaptive Reuse
HOBI Award, Best Commercial Rehab Under 20,000 sf. with Petra Construction

Restoring the original 11,250 SF structure and designing a 6,500 SF addition to meet contemporary academic needs, we also preserved the site’s historic integrity. Following National Park Service guidelines, the addition is modern yet harmonious—sympathetic in scale yet distinct from the original villa, and respectful of its historic surroundings. The landscape was carefully protected throughout construction, including Yale’s largest tulip tree, a 54-inch specimen, considered to be the state champion, directly behind the addition.

Material selections bridge past and present through craft and performance. Cross-laminated timber provides a renewable structural system and natural warmth, while terracotta cladding offers durability and timeless character, complementing the villa’s restored stucco masonry. Inside, daylight floods the renovated interiors, with the restored cupola now serving as a dramatic communal gathering space.

Sustainability and Performance

Reflecting Yale’s commitment to sustainability, the project unites historic preservation with high-performance design and targets LEED Gold certification.

The all-electric building achieves an EUI of 35.2 kBTU/sf/yr, roughly half the U.S. commercial average, with modeling showing a 22–38% energy reduction over ASHRAE 90.1-2010 standards. Efficiency is supported by high-performance HVAC, advanced commissioning, and real-time metering.

Water use is reduced by 30%+ through WaterSense fixtures and the elimination of outdoor irrigation. Building-level metering supports Yale’s five-year data-sharing commitment with the U.S. Green Building Council.

Sustainable construction practices included 40+ EPD-certified products, 33% responsibly sourced materials, and 83% waste diversion. Preserving the historic structure itself significantly reduced embodied carbon.

MERV-13 filtration, low-emitting materials, and optimized daylighting and comfort ensure a healthy, welcoming environment for building occupants.

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