Hotchkiss School Biomass Treatment Facility; Photo by © David Sundberg-ESTO. Courtesy of Centerbrook Architects. Click to learn more in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 6/13/16

Hotchkiss School Biomass Treatment Facility
Lakeville, CT, USA
11,500 sf. Greenroof

Project of the Week Description & Details

Founded in 1891, the Hotchkiss School is an independent boarding school nestled in the beautiful northwest corner of Connecticut. Part of the school’s commitment to becoming a carbon-neutral campus by 2020, a state-of-the-art biomass central heating facility was built in 2012 to replace an aging steam plant. Located between a golf course and marshes, the new LEED Gold certified Hotchkiss School’s Biomass Treatment Center provides heating for the entire preparatory school which includes 85 buildings and approximately 600 residents. Designed by Centerbrook Architects, the architect of record, the low profile power plant is sited at the bottom of a sloping landscape and sports a highly visible undulating green roof. The treatment center burns woodchips and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by a third to a half compared to the oil-fired boiler it replaced; in fact, the school has cut a six-figure sum from its winter energy bill.

Photo by © David Sundberg-ESTO. Courtesy of Centerbrook Architects.

Installed in July, 2012 by Apex Green Roofs, the ZinCo USA Sedum Carpet green roof system on the biomass plant sits on top of a Sika Sarnafil waterproofing membrane. Due to the use of precultivated sedum mats which were laid directly onto the green roof substrate, the roof was covered by vegetation quickly. Designed for a combination of aesthetics and ecological value, its distinctive wavy living roof provides captures 50% of the site’s rainwater. And bioswales combine with rain gardens to further slow and filter rainwater before it enters the ground. Considered an immediate icon in sustainable commercial construction, the Hotchkiss School’s Biomass Treatment Center’s serpentine green roof is an exciting addition to an already beautiful campus, merging with the surrounding landscape, and protecting nearby wetlands from associated erosion and pollution.

Year: 2012
Owner: Hotchkiss School
Location: Lakeville, CT, USA
Building Type: Other
Type: Extensive
System: Single Source
Size: 11500 sq.ft.
Slope: 17%
Access: Inaccessible, Private

Hotchkiss School Biomass Treatment Facility; Photo by © David Sundberg-ESTO. Courtesy of Centerbrook Architects.

Photo by © David Sundberg-ESTO. Courtesy of Centerbrook Architects.

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Architect: Centerbrook Architects
Greenroof System: ZinCo USA Sedum Carpet System
Waterproofing Manufacturer: Sika Sarnafil
Waterproofing Membrane Contractor: Greenwood Industries
Greenroof Installation: Apex Green Roofs
Civil Engineer: Milone & MacBroom
Structural Engineer: DeStefano & Chamberlain
MEP Engineer: Van Zelm Engineers
LEED/Commissioning Consultant: The Stone House Group
Construction Management: O&G Industries

View the PROJECT PROFILE to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Project of the Week Video Feature

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By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
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