Wisconsin DNR Northeast Regional Headquarters
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Northeast Regional Headquarters is the State’s first “green” state office building. It was officially certified as a LEED-NC Gold building in May 2006.
The building is located in Howard, a village adjacent to Green Bay and houses up to 156 employees. It is a three-story building built on a slope to minimize its footprint on the site. Materials used in the building envelope are highly insulated and efficient and include a high-reflectance and high emissivity roof. The predominant exposure of the windows is north and south. The two-story south side, has interior light shelves and exterior overhangs to reduce glare and heat gain in the interior while the three-story north side is composed of walls of windows that provide extensive natural daylighting. 75% of all regularly occupied spaces are daylit.
As part of the “Green” construction process, a number of recycled materials were used in the building. These include renewed Steelcase systems furniture, UltraTouch natural cotton (old shredded blue-jeans) insulation, Woodstalk cabinetry (post-consumer wheat straw harvest), 54% recycled-content carpet squares, and concrete mixed with incinerator ash.
High quality indoor air is provided using high efficiency air filtration and a carbon monoxide monitoring system. Interior furnishings are made of local, natural, recycled, and refurbished materials. An integrated building operating system continuously monitors energy consumption information and a monitor in the lobby display energy savings and building construction information for walk-in customers.
Environmentally-friendly handling of construction waste was also part of the green building process. As a result of a construction management plan implemented prior to startup, 85% was recycled and kept 237 tons of construction waste out of area landfills.
Landscaping consists of native plants, trees and prairie grasses that require no additional irrigation while a rain garden handles excess roof top runoff on the west side of the building. Surface water runoff from a multi-purpose entrance road and parking lot is directed toward a wet mesic prairie and a sedimentation pond.