October 2023
BE+ Green Building of the Year Finalist: 31 Tufts

We are delighted to announce that our affordable housing project located at 31 Tufts Street was selected as one of the top three finalists for the Green Building of the Year Award by BE+! This distinguished award aims to recognize exceptional green building projects recently completed in Massachusetts.

Three West Work staff, including Passive House experts Liz Hauver and Mike Marotta, joined the 2023 Green Building Showcase on October 26th evening to celebrate projects and firms greening the built environment through design and innovation. Liz presented the remarkable journey and achievements of the 31 Tufts Street project. We also showcased our work on 1 Elmwood St, a multi-family and retail project modeling grassroots, minority-led and hyper sustainable development.

31 Tufts Street is a 16-unit affordable housing new construction in Somerville, MA. This project commenced with extensive community engagement and thorough form-finding studies concurrently with detailed energy modeling analysis. Throughout the construction phase, we implemented an integrated review process to ensure that the final construction conformed to the energy model. Anticipating Passive House certification in November 2023, the project exemplifies the intersection of sustainability, affordability, and active community involvement.

We are grateful to our client E3 Development for the opportunity to contribute to the collective mission of creating a more sustainable built environment for future generations. Congratulations to all other finalists and prize winners!