R.W. Kern Center

The R.W. Kern Center is Hampshire's newest building. The Kern Center houses admissions, financial aid, the office of new student programming, and the Kern Kafe, as well as several extra classrooms and social spaces. There are several puzzles, designed by game design professor Ira Fey, hidden throughout the building.

History
The building opened in Fall 2016, Hampshire's newest building in decades. On September 16, 2016, there was a day-long dedication event with urban revitalization strategist and public radio host Majora Carter as a keynote speaker. The event also featured environmentalist Bill McKibben and green architect Jason F. McLennan.

The Kern Center began providing its own water on June 15, 2017.

Living Building Challenge
The Kern Center was build with the goal of being certified as a "Living Building." The Kern Center provides it's own energy using solar panels on the roof, and provides it's own water by collecting rainwater and filtering it so that it is potable. The building was originally connected to the municipal water system and was continuously tested for quality. Many students, often first-years, have worked on the buildings electrical system, water system, and logistical problems in the Integrated Science classes.

Due to greywater reuse, water from the sinks in the bathrooms and cafe are used to water the plants inside the Kern Center, so there are periodically complaints about the smell when the plants automated watering system goes off.

Integrated Sciences First-Year Program
The Integrated Science First-Year Program is an initiative at Hampshire that gets students involved in the Kern Center. The courses are intended for first-years, but there have been Five-College students and upper-divisional students in the courses as well. The topics of the integrated science courses change from year to year, but are typically focused on systems thinking, electricity, water use, and more.

Kern Center Toilets
The Kern Center bathrooms use composting toilets, so you do not have to flush. There was a piece in the Hampshire Howler in Spring 2017 titled "Kern Center Toilets Want Your Soul." The bathrooms are all one-person and gender-neutral. When neighboring bathrooms are occupied, you can hear the stranger on the other side of the wall doing their business as it plops down into the compost deep below. Strangely enough, they do not smell.