The Boldt Company’s Wisconsin River Valley office is one of two projects in the state designed, built, and certified according to U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) standards to achieve a Silver LEED certification rating. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a national system for designing, constructing, and certifying the world’s greenest and best buildings. “Green,” or “sustainable,” buildings use key resources like energy, water, materials, and land more efficiently than buildings that are built to code.
The 21,000 square-foot office and warehouse located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, was designed by Boldt Technical Services and built by Oscar J. Boldt Construction, divisions of The Boldt Company. The Boldt Company is a Wisconsin-based corporation and has ten offices across the United States. It is also among the top-ranked general contractors and construction managers in the nation.
Boldt leaders say gaining LEED certification for their own office building shows the company regards green construction as more than a trend.
“Construction by its nature leaves a huge footprint on our natural resources,” said The Boldt Company CEO Tom Boldt. “We’re experimenting by trying different things and expanding our knowledge so we continue to be innovative and environmentally responsible builders.”
The LEED rating system is based on a total of seven prerequisites. Some of the prerequisites require the building teams to incorporate an erosion, sedimentation, and site impact control plan, to establish a minimum level of energy efficiency and indoor air quality performance, to specify equipment that does not use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) based refrigerants, and to incorporate waste collection and storage.
Boldt team members set out to create a building to meet LEED certification guidelines and used computer simulation to develop the design and performance characteristics of the facility. The site features a high-performance, energy-efficient building envelope that allows daylight to penetrate the workspace through a clerestory, and employs comprehensive erosion control and storm water management. Boldt minimized the building footprint to avoid soil compaction, thus preserving future expansion options. The building features low-flow plumbing fixtures, certified wood products, a carbon dioxide monitoring system, and used components made from recycled materials. Additional features include:
• 75% of all construction waste generated by the project was recycled
• The facility consumes 60% less electrical and gas energy than a conventional facility
• 50% of the electrical energy the facility consumes is generated by wind power
• 100% of rainwater falling on the building and site is retained and filtered on-site
• 100% of the employees work in natural daylight and have a view of the exterior environment
“When you can choose to put your structural steel and concrete into recycling dumpsters rather than in a landfill, you’re making a difference in environmental impact and in the cost of your project,” said Gordon Ashbeck, Boldt project superintendent. “Boldt understands how to design, build and document a LEED-certified project, and we did it on a project that was at our own expense—not our client’s expense,” said James Van Asten, Boldt project manager.
The intangible benefits of a “green” facility are critical in the winter months, according to Boldt team members. “When the temperature is 20-below outside and you are working in an environment that is bathed in warm sunlight, you can’t help but feel good,” said Dave Kievet, Boldt executive vice president.
In addition to the regional office in Stevens Point, Boldt is currently building four LEED registered projects including the DNR Northeast Regional Headquarters in Howard, expansion of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Appleton, the Affinity Health System Clinic in Greenville, and the Mead Wildlife Area DNR Headquarters and Education Center in Milladore, Wisconsin. Boldt is also building it’s second LEED certified office building for the Southern Operations Division in Oklahoma City.
In the state of Wisconsin, 19 projects are registered with the USGBC for LEED certification. To date, two projects have been awarded the Certified status, two have been awarded Silver certification, two have been awarded Gold certification and none have received Platinum certification.
The Boldt Company consists of three divisions — Boldt Consulting Services, Boldt Technical Services, and Oscar J. Boldt Construction. Boldt currently has four LEED accredited professionals on staff.