MIDDLEBURY — On Thursday, May 17, the Vermont Green Building Network (VGBN) bestowed on the town of Middlebury the Greenest Building Award for 2017 for the Middlebury Town Office Building. The award was given in a ceremony at the town offices that coincided with a tour of the town office building by attendees of the Vermont Town and City Management Association’s Spring Conference.
Chris Huston, John Dale and Paul Wyncoop from Bread Loaf Corporation; Middlebury selectboard member Victor Nouvo; and Efficiency Vermont’s Nick Thiltgen presented the award to Town Manager Kathleen Ramsay, who accepted the award on behalf of the town. The building was recognized for its performance over the entire operating cycle of 2017, for exemplary energy efficiency and as a net zero-ready facility. “Net zero” means it uses no more energy than it creates; the building will be officially net zero once the town controls the renewable energy credits from its solar array.
Huston thanked the entire team for the highly collaborative approach, which he said was fundamental to the success of the project. Middlebury-based Bread Loaf was the principal contractor on the building. He also read the following statement from Jenna Antonino DiMare, the executive director of VGBN:
“I am proud of the excellent work Bread Loaf Corporation is doing to push the market towards more sustainable building practices. The Vermont Green Building Network was delighted to award its net zero-ready Middlebury town office project the Vermont’s Greenest Building Award in the commercial category this year. Congratulations to their entire team for helping to ensure this building exemplifies best practices in municipal buildings, and creates a new standard for environmentally responsible construction and operations in Vermont.”
Middlebury College was also recognized for its significant contributions to the ambitious project and for its specific support of the net zero features of the new Middlebury town offices.