This week In Our Nature will feature a series of architectural profiles on sustainable buildings, to coincide with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) convention being held in Miami June 10-12. We’ll start off with a recap of the most sustainable building in America to date – Holy Wisdom Monastery near Madison, Wisconsin.
The monastery, built by Hoffman LLC of Appleton, Wisconsin, earned 63 out of a possible 69 LEED points, the most of any LEED-new construction building in the United States to date. The Sisters’ intent was not to set any records; their mission was “to build the most environmentally sound structure as possible and to encourage others to do so by demonstrating that it could be done affordably.”
A key partner in the project was Andersen Windows, which designed special windows for the monastery that allow daylight in while eliminating the need for blinds. The windows provide ample natural light to 85% of the regularly occupied spaces of the building.
“We were excited to work so closely with Hoffman to achieve the results they were looking for,” said Jay Sandgren, commercial-architectural representative at Andersen.
More than 370 Andersen® windows and patio doors were used, with those on the South, East and West sides of the building having a special glazing. The north side windows utilized a standard Low-E4® Sun glazing where direct sunlight is minimal.
“This allowed the designers to reduce the strong sunlight coming in on various sides of the building, while allowing for excellent light and climate control at all times throughout the day without the use of blinds or other window treatments,” said Sandgren. “In the building, if there was too much sunlight, you would need blinds, and with blinds drawn, you would then need to turn on the lights, which drains energy. Our solution eliminated that need.”
The building is expected to perform exceptionally well compared to other structures. “Compared to a LEED baseline building, Holy Wisdom Monastery anticipates a 60% savings in energy cost and a 44% savings in indoor water usage,” said Mark Hanson, director of sustainable services at Hoffman LLC.
