Hotel at Oberlin and Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center Receive Top Sustainability Rating

The Hotel at Oberlin and Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center has earned a LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it one of only a handful of new hotels in the country to achieve the highest standard for sustainability. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the United States.

Architecture firm SBC worked with the college to create the 104,000-square-foot mixed-use center in the heart of downtown Oberlin and overlooking Tappan Square.

The hotel features 70 guest rooms and suites, the 1833 Restaurant, and 6,500-square feet of event space. The adjacent Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center is home to the College of Arts & Sciences Admissions office and the Oberlin Center for Convergence (StudiOC). 

Meghan Riesterer, assistant vice president for campus energy and sustainability, says the college understands the value and challenge of LEED.

“Campus transformation happens one project at a time. Oberlin College has exemplified extraordinary leadership in reshaping our campus and visitor experience, not only in a way that informs and impacts the higher education sector but also the hotel industry,” Riesterer says. “The success in LEED Platinum is due to the partnerships, hard work, and support of those committed to advancing building practices, sustainability, and education on campus and within the community. This new LEED Platinum certification is one step closer to revolutionizing the environment in which we learn, live, play, and rest.“

Innovative features include rainwater collection and reuse, exterior automated solar shading devices that respond to weather and sun exposure, a highly effective thermal envelope that uses rainscreen technology for long-term moisture control, and natural ventilation through automated window vents and skylights. The project also used natural, salvaged, or recycled materials wherever possible and sourced 50 percent of building materials from within 500 miles.