Kohler Ronan Consulting Engineers - Postcard: Kohler Environmental Center, Choate Rosemary Hall

Kohler Environmental Center at Choate Rosemary Hall Wallingford, Connecticut As part of the ground-breaking Kohler Environmental Center (KEC) project, Kohler Ronan designed systems compliant with the utmost in green building standards. Earth duct ventilation, the intake for which is featured in the foreground of the cover photo, is just one such system.

By pre-conditioning the outside air to a milder temperature, the earth duct system significantly reduces heating-related energy usage and corresponding costs. Together with a combination of active and passive systems, earth ducts help reduce total energy consumption within the facility by more than 50% compared to ASHRAE 90.1-2004. The potable water consumption has been decreased by more than 60%. As the 31,325 sf building was designed to achieve net-zero energy usage, 100% of its annual energy demand is met on-site via a 296 kW photovoltaic array, roofmounted evacuated solar tubes, and waste oil.

Beyond the sustainability goals of the KEC, is the goal to create a living laboratory and environmental immersion program in which students and faculty take responsibility for their environmental impact. To this end, the LEED Platinum facility has been equipped with interactive monitoring technology allowing building occupants to track individual energy use as well as the building’s performance.

To learn more about this and other engineering projects, please visit www.kohlerronan.com.

Architect: Robert A.M. Stern Architects Photography: ŠAnna Wesolowska/www.photographerhedman.com

1370 Broadway, New York, NY 10018 P (212) 695-2422 F (212) 695-2423

93 Lake Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810 P (203) 778-1017 F (203) 778-1018

krce@kohlerronan.com

www.kohlerronan.com