ROCKY HILL, CONN. — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has presented a design award to the Centerbrook Designers & Planners LLP, with Kleinfelder/SEA Consultants providing materials management services.

The honor was in recognition of Kleinfelder/SEA’s work at Kroon Hall, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, in New Haven, Conn. To date, Kroon Hall is Yale’s most sustainable building; it was designed with elements and technical strategies that promote a 50 percent decrease in energy use over a comparably-sized building.

Kleinfelder/SEA created a materials management plan for the site. The plan enabled the development of a vast courtyard outside Kroon Hall, where previously, an inefficient service environment cluttered with delivery vans, facility vehicles, and dumpsters existed. The materials management plan features a plinth upon which a courtyard was constructed. Beneath the courtyard — and hidden from view — are loading docks, mechanical spaces, and building services.

The courtyard also features a stormwater filtration pond, and reduces the building’s heat-island effect through the use of light-colored materials, grass, and water.

For more information about Kleinfelder/SEA Consultants, please visit www.seacon.com.