University of Wisconsin-Madison building sets new benchmark for sustainability

MADISON, WIS. — As cash-strapped universities and colleges increasingly rely on private donors to fund capital building projects, donors are bringing two mandates to the drawing table: That existing buildings be adaptively reused whenever possible, and that projects incorporate sustainable-design strategies.

The newly renovated and enlarged Education Building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, designed by HGA Architects and Engineers (HGA), exceeded both of these "green" and cost-saving mandates. As a result, the benchmark project is a model for the sustainable re-use of existing buildings at universities throughout the country.

In addition to providing a new home for the School of Education in an historic Beaux Arts building, designed in 1900 by architect J.T.W. Jennings, HGA integrated an array of now-accepted, as well as groundbreaking, sustainable technologies. For example, the building is the first in the Midwest to use an active chilled beam system for cooling and ventilation. As a result, it also is one of the first in the state of Wisconsin to receive an Energy Star rating, a federal designation that recognizes energy efficiency. Submitted for LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the Education Building Renovation and Addition Project has set a new standard for environmentally sound capital projects.

For HGA, sustainable design goes hand-in-hand with good design, and green strategies have always been an integral part of the firm’s design and engineering work. HGA’s experience in sustainability and the redesign of existing buildings informed this project. In fact, their work with the University of Wisconsin system includes Cambridge Commons, student housing in downtown Milwaukee, the expanded Communication Arts building on the Parkside campus, as well as the mixed-use housing and retail Kenilworth Building project near downtown Milwaukee.