The Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI) — a five-story 104,000-square-foot research center at University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison, Wisconsin — has earned LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and top honors in commercial design locally. WEI is designed by the St. Louis office of HOK and Madison-based Potter Lawson.

The $57.1 million facility hosts cutting-edge renewable energy systems research and opened in 2013.

“In many ways, HOK’s design allows us to live our mission of creating a better world through energy research,” said Dr. Tim Donohue, director of WEI’s largest tenant, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), and UW professor of bacteriology. “We’re reminded each day by the careful selection of sustainable building material, the natural day lighting, even the power supplied by our photovoltaic array.”

GLBRC has been tasked by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct research that generates technology to convert cellulosic biomass to ethanol and other biofuels. The WEI is also home to the UW Energy Institute, the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative and the Center for Renewable Energy Systems.

Among the design features that earned the WEI LEED Gold Certification were:

    •    A central light well and floor-to-ceiling windows to help distribute natural light, while occupancy and daylight-harvesting sensors help manage use of artificial lighting;

    •    The former site's parking lot was converted to green space featuring a research-relevant perennial garden and a bioswale area to filter silt in storm water before drainage to city facilities;

    •    About 96 percent of all construction waste – more than 10,600 tons of concrete, 220 tons of steel and 40 tons of wood – was recycled.

    •    Low-flow fixtures to provide 30 percent improvement in water efficiency;

    •    A 22Kw photovoltaic array to supplement building's power needs.  It also includes chilled beam technology which utilizes natural air flows to minimize energy use in heating and cooling office space.

The design also earned Project of the Year and Best Green-Built honors from Madison-based In Business Magazine in its seventh annual Commercial Design Awards (CDA). 

Mortenson Construction, Milwaukee, Wis., was general contractor for the project.

HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Through a network of 24 offices worldwide, HOK provides design excellence and innovation to create places that enrich people's lives and help clients succeed. For four consecutive years, DesignIntelligence has ranked the company as a leader in sustainable and high-performance design.