Kroon Hall

Kroon Hall, the home of the Yale School of the Environment since 2009, reflects the school’s values and environmental mission through its sustainably minded, climate-responsive design. Located on Science Hill and named for alumnus Richard Kroon (B.A. 1964), the $43.5 million building merges cathedral-like proportions with the simplicity of a Connecticut barn. Designed by Hopkins Architects in partnership with Centerbrook Architects, Kroon Hall holds LEED Platinum certification and consumes 67 percent less energy than comparable structures.

The building houses offices for fifty faculty and staff members, three classrooms, the 175-seat Burke Auditorium with views of West Rock, and student spaces like the Knobloch Environment Center and the quiet Ordway Learning Center. Its energy-efficient design takes full advantage of its orientation and site, with a hillside foundation providing thermal insulation and maximizing natural light. The building’s shape and extensive glass facades allow daylight to illuminate the interior, while sensors adjust artificial lighting based on occupancy and ambient light levels.

Kroon incorporates multiple renewable systems, including a rooftop photovoltaic array that supplies 25 percent of the building’s electricity, geothermal wells for heating and cooling, and solar panels for hot water. The displacement ventilation system distributes air through raised floors rather than overhead ducts, improving efficiency. In colder months, heat from exhaust air is transferred to incoming fresh air, while in summer, evaporative cooling lowers air temperatures by up to eighteen degrees. Occupants are encouraged to assist in energy savings through a hallway prompt system that signals when windows should be opened for natural ventilation.

Water conservation is another key element of Kroon’s design. A rainwater-harvesting system collects and filters runoff through a courtyard garden and stores it in underground tanks for use in irrigation and toilet flushing—saving up to 300,000 gallons of potable water annually. Materials were chosen with sustainability in mind, including locally sourced sandstone and red oak paneling harvested from Yale-Myers Forest. The landscaping around the building fosters a sense of community on Science Hill, with native plantings and a green roof in the south courtyard. Beneath it, a centralized service hub streamlines waste collection and deliveries for the area.

Altogether, Kroon Hall serves as a living demonstration of environmental leadership and thoughtful, place-based design.

Sage Hall

Completed in 1923 as a gift from William H. Sage in memory of his son, Sage Hall is a four-story building at 205 Prospect Street that serves as a central hub for the Yale School of the Environment. It houses administrative, development, alumni, and program offices, along with four classrooms and a computer cluster with twenty-four workstations for student use. A 490-square-foot student lounge provides a welcoming space for studying, events, and weekly social gatherings. Attached to Sage is Bowers Auditorium, added in 1931 through a bequest from Edward A. Bowers. Designed to accommodate both large lectures and small group work, Bowers seats 100 and features red oak flooring from Yale-Myers Forest, installed in 2011, along with energy-efficient LED lighting added in 2016.

MArsh Hall

Located within the Marsh Botanical Garden at 360 Prospect Street, Marsh Hall is a four-story former mansion originally home to Professor Othniel C. Marsh, a prominent nineteenth-century paleontologist. Bequeathed to Yale in 1899, it housed the entire Forest School for twenty-five years and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Today, Marsh Hall supports research and instruction in silviculture, forest economics, policy, and biometry, and includes a classroom, meeting room, kitchen, and accessible bathroom on the first floor.

Greeley Memorial Laboratory

Built in 1959 and named for William Buckhout Greeley, the Greeley Lab at 370 Prospect Street is a notable example of Brutalist architecture by Paul Rudolph. It features laboratories focused on landscape ecology, urban sustainability, tree biology, and environmental chemistry, as well as spaces for the doctoral program. A recently renovated main lobby now serves as a social space. Adjacent to the lab is a 3,800-square-foot greenhouse that supports hands-on student learning and research. Funding for the lab and greenhouse came from the forest industries, the John A. Hartford Foundation, and other donors.

CLASS OF 1954 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CENTER

The Environmental Science Center at 21 Sachem Street honors the Yale Class of 1954 for its $70 million gift supporting new science facilities and other university priorities. Built to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in environmental science and engineering, the center houses four YSE natural science faculty laboratories alongside research spaces for Yale departments such as Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Anthropology, and the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies.

300 & 301 PROSPECT STREET and 380 EDWARDS

These historic former residences provide offices for many of the school’s programs as well as doctoral student spaces. 301 Prospect Street and 380 Edwards Street each include a classroom, and 300 Prospect Street is home to the school’s admissions, financial aid, communications, and research offices.

OSBORNE MEMORIAL LABORATORIES

Located at the corner of Prospect and Sachem Streets, Osborn Memorial Laboratories (OML) previously housed lab and office space for one YSE faculty member, along with several other Yale biology labs. Now undergoing major renovations, OML is expected to reopen in summer 2027 as a central hub for YSE faculty, as well as faculty from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, and the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture.

YALE FORESTS AND THE QUIET CORNER INITIATIVE

The Yale Forests Program manages over 10,000 acres across Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont, offering a living laboratory for education, research, and professional training in sustainable forest management. The largest parcel, Yale-Myers Forest, supports hands-on student learning through an apprentice forester program and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Faculty and students conduct wide-ranging research—from silviculture and ecology to policy and hydrology—and host field trips and workshops for academic and community groups.

Facilities at Yale-Myers include bunkhouses, a classroom, dining hall, and research lab, enabling immersive learning experiences. Forest management is led by faculty, staff, and postgraduate fellows, with graduate students carrying out much of the fieldwork.

The Quiet Corner Initiative (QCI) extends Yale’s impact beyond campus, connecting graduate coursework and research to real-world environmental challenges in the rural communities surrounding Yale-Myers. QCI programs focus on forest conservation, watershed management, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture, while strengthening applied education, landscape-scale research, and community-based sustainability efforts.

Yale also maintains strong ties with other regional forests used for education and research. These include Great Mountain Forest, where Yale operates a solar-powered camp with overnight accommodations for MODs, and the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority’s 20,000-acre forest. Additional collaborations with state forests and the Connecticut Forest & Park Association broaden the opportunities for student and faculty engagement across New England.

LIBRARY AND TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

YSE students benefit from a robust network of library and technology services that support their academic and research needs. Yale University Library offers access to over fifteen million print and digital volumes, more than 1,000 databases, and specialized environmental collections housed across multiple campus libraries. Most YSE materials are available online or through the Marx Science and Social Science Library, where the environmental studies librarian provides research support, bibliographic instruction, and help with tools like EndNote and Zotero. Additional guidance is available through the YSE Library Research Guide (https://guides.library.yale.edu/yse).

YSE Information Technology (YSE-IT) supports all computing platforms and provides services ranging from hardware recommendations to hands-on tech support. A computer lab in Sage Hall is equipped with high-performance workstations, printers, and access to faculty-developed software. Wireless printing is available throughout campus, and 3D and large-format printing are accessible at Yale’s CEID and School of Architecture.

Students can borrow equipment—including GPS units, iPads, and cameras—at no cost through an online checkout system. YSE-IT also offers centralized data backup and Dropbox accounts for secure file storage.

The Marx Library further enhances digital research with access to the StatLab, GIS support, a Bloomberg Terminal, and expert guidance on data management. Together, these integrated resources ensure students are well-supported in their academic and professional pursuits.