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1. West Portal
As the primary entrance to the Living Village and community plaza, the West Portal is in many ways reminiscent of the gateway entrances present in many of Yale’s historic buildings. Designed without gates, the Living Village is open and welcoming to all.
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2. The Graze
This casual seating area and its accompanying planting bed contains two types of blueberries and multiple serviceberry trees providing a canopy of shade, offering berries to both wildlife and people of the community.
3. Village Plaza
This large community green is the central organizing element of the Living Village. The space encompasses the main entrance to the Divinity School, residential building entrances, and the YDS community kitchen. The open and flexible courtyard organization allows the community and visitors to enjoy both organized outdoor events, casual encounters, and impromptu gatherings.
4. Confluence
Confluence is a collection of granite stones that choreograph water to engage the senses and invite interaction from people of all heights and abilities. The playful cluster celebrates difference through material finish and varied scales while uniting around the essential human experience of, and need for, water.
5. East Portal
The East Portal offers a breathtaking, panoramic view toward East Rock, providing residents and visitors with a constant connection to the local landscape and a sense of orientation and natural beauty.
6. Amphitheater
Overlooking East Rock lawn, the amphitheater is a communal space promoting people coming together. Made of granite blocks with grass seating, it enhances the hills natural contours and preserves the landscape. A place for people to gather, enjoy performances and learning.
7. The Grove
Serving as a backdrop to the terrace and amphitheater, this pathway allée consists of a young native canopy of fruit and nut trees connecting the existing residences to the Living Village and the Divinity School.
8. Memory Pile
Stone memory piles are an Indigenous tradition used to honor the memories and deeds of ancestors. This memory pile is made with rocks from the Yale Divinity School grounds on the homelands of the Quinnipiac, or Long Water People.
9. Water Commons
The boardwalk gathering space brings the community together around water and highlights its influence on peoples’ lives. The Water Commons filters rainwater and wastewater through a series of constructed wetlands and rain gardens stepping down the hillside. This space serves as a living laboratory, inviting curiosity and educational opportunities surrounding water use.
10. The Orchard
Overlooking Prospect Street, the informal campus green space is for gathering and use as a shade lawn, with trees and plants that are fruit or nut bearing. This agricultural element is fundamental to the Living Village ethos.
Bauer Hall
The regenerative student residential hall is designed to be the largest living-building housing complex on a university campus.
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Divinity Farm
A community garden established in 2009 by students, faculty, and administrators; tended by campus volunteers in cooperation with the Yale School of the Environment.
The Living Village is a new type of graduate student residence seeking full certification under the Living Building Challenge (LBC). Built on a former parking lot, the project area is 4.4 acres with a 44,000-square-foot building, comprising 49 units, with a total of 51 bedrooms. Organized around a central plaza the Village is designed to build community while supporting a sustainable and regenerative way of life.
Theological Statements and Background
YDS is charged with the responsibility to be stewards of creation. Sustainable living is not only an ecological decision but an ethical one, driven by our growing recognition that humans are part of nature, not lords over it. Compelled to put biblical and ecotheological principles into practice, we invite others to join us in creating a flourishing future.
Living Building Challenge
The Living Building Challenge is a philosophy, advocacy tool, and certification program defining today’s most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment. It addresses all buildings at all scales and is an inclusive tool for transformative design. The Living Building Challenge provides a framework for designing, constructing, and improving the symbiotic relationships between people and all aspects of the built and natural environments.
The LBC structured around seven performance categories known as “Petals,” each representing a key aspect of a truly living building. The Petals are Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty.
For more information: https://living-future.org/lbc
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