Foundry Building Awarded Prestigious LEED Green Building Gold Certification

The City of Cambridge announced today that The Foundry building has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification, a globally recognized symbol of excellence in green buildings developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Through design, construction and operations practices that improve environmental and human health, LEED-certified buildings are helping to make the world more sustainable.

The Foundry achieved LEED Gold certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions in several areas, including innovation, water efficiency, material selection, energy and atmosphere, regional priority credits, and location and transportation. CambridgeSeven developed a design that resulted in LEED Gold certification with all-electric energy and efficient space with modern systems that also highlights the building’s historic beauty.

"It is rare for a historic and renovated building to be awarded LEED Gold certification,” said Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang. “The Foundry was constructed and operates at one of the highest levels of sustainability. We are incredibly proud of the building and what it represents for the community.”

In the United States alone, it is estimated that buildings account for approximately 30 percent of national CO2 emissions, but LEED-certified buildings have lower CO2 emissions, consume less energy and less water, and have diverted more than 80 million tons of waste from landfills. Green buildings allow organizations to operate more sustainably and give the people inside them a healthier, more comfortable space to work, learn and play.

Located at the intersection of Kendall Square and the East Cambridge neighborhood, The Foundry is an adaptive reuse project and a self-sustaining center for creativity and collaboration for the Cambridge community. At 50,000 square feet with a 4,000 square foot exterior, The Foundry provides space and programs for the arts (visual and performing), crafts, technology, entrepreneurship, workforce education, and community activities. It also helps facilitate access for residents, especially underrepresented communities to the dynamic working and learning environment of Kendall Square. The building also provides office space at market rate and below market rates for businesses and non-profit organizations.

The City of Cambridge managed The Foundry construction project after acquiring it as the result of a real estate development proposal from Alexandria Real Estate. Originally built in the early 1890s, renovation of The Foundry’s interior started in the late fall 2019 and construction was substantially completed in the summer of 2022. The building was opened to the public in October 2022. 

History of The Foundry
The Foundry Building was built in the early 1890s as part of the George F. Blake Manufacturing Company in East Cambridge. The Blake and Knowles company was acquired in 1916 by the Worthington Pump and Machine Corporation. Worthington renamed the facility the "Blake and Knowles Works." The complex, including the Foundry, was once a nationally recognized manufacturing facility and supplied 90% of pump supplies to the U.S. Navy in the 1930s. Since then, the Foundry building was retooled and redesigned over the years, playing roles as a motor freight station, a fastener factory making parts for carriages, an aircraft parts factory, and eventually a home to numerous Kendall Square startups in fields ranging from telephone systems to pharmaceuticals.