Set against a dramatic backdrop of the beautiful Berkshire mountains, Fellows Hall is the first Net-Zero energy dormitory at Williams College. It serves the Center for Development Economics (CDE) program, a graduate course for mid-career professionals from developing countries. The dorm shares a prominent site at the campus entrance with historic Saint Anthony Hall (SAH), academic home of the CDE.

The design of Fellows Hall centers around student well-being, with an emphasis on natural light, connection to nature, and balancing the need for privacy with a sense of community.

The dorm is organized into three volumes, helping to give the building a more residential scale: a prominent central commons and two asymmetric bedroom wings. The north-south facing wings house paired single-occupancy rooms with a shared vestibule and bathroom, and are vertically offset to follow the sloping site. This configuration capitalizes on daylight and minimizes heat gain. Fellows Hall also sets up a dialogue with Saint Anthony Hall. The dorm’s angled wings mirror the angular geometry of the historic building, and create an inviting outdoor space, or “CDE quad” between the buildings that unifies them into a mini-campus.

In the rooms, generously proportioned, operable windows are triple glazed, affording cross-ventilation and views of the surrounding landscape. Inviting double-height communal areas layered around the circulation core complement the scale and privacy of the individual units. Furnished with a warm palette, these common areas are visible from the exterior as an inviting beacon of warmth in the winter.

Achieving Net-Zero required a large south-facing sloping roof to support 350 photovoltaic panels. The roof fascia was accentuated to give the building a defining, sculptural presence, as well as symbolic significance: The sheltering roof, a universal symbol of “home,” evokes a feeling of familiarity for international students, far from their own families.

The dorm is fully electric. Heating and cooling are provided by ten on-site geothermal wells while PV cells power all systems. The super-insulated envelope is designed to rigorous Passive House standards and glazing was limited on the east and west. Every room is equipped with LED lighting, occupancy sensors, and efficient valence units.