Holy Wisdom Monastery

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When the Benedictine Women of Madison began their partnership with Hoffman in 2006, one of their initial goals was to design and build a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) Platinum facility that would inspire and encourage others to build and live sustainably. Creating the highest-rated LEED-NC building in the country was not part of their original intent. But that’s exactly what happened.

Seeking to replace Benedict House — their 60,000 square foot conference center that never effectively served their mission, was extremely costly to operate and maintain, and was a contradiction to the prairie they were restoring on their 130-acre site—the Sisters set high expectations for the new, 34,000 square foot Holy Wisdom Monastery. The monastery needed to:

Embody their mission of weaving prayer, hospitality, justice, and care for the earth into a shared way of life as an ecumenical Benedictine community.
Portray an elegant simplicity central to the Sisters’ monastic values.
Provide spaces ideal for both quiet, personal reflection as well as community gathering.
Be designed and built sustainably—respectful of its natural environment—within a fiscally responsible budget.
Achieve a LEED Platinum certification.

Providing planning, design, and construction management services, Hoffman collaborated with the Sisters to create a building that is not only meeting all of their needs, but one that received 63 out of a possible 69 points under LEED-NC v2.2, making it the highest-rated LEED-NC Platinum building in the country. Holy Wisdom Monastery was completed at a cost of $246 per square foot. This figure contains all project-related costs (except land), including the responsible deconstruction of the Benedict House. Both the Sisters and Hoffman take great pride in the fact that one of the greenest buildings in the United States was built for such a moderate cost.

“Hoffman honored and valued our input and that was very much appreciated.”
–Sr. Joanne Kollasch, OSB

“Hoffman’s willingness to listen to us helped us articulate what we wanted in the building. That helped us to be able to say what we wanted and be able to have the building that did express our values.”
–Sr. Lynne Smith, OSB

Project Achievements:
USGBC LEED Platinum Certification
Highest-rated LEED Platinum Building in U.S.
AGC 2009 Aon Build America Merit Award
Wisconsin Builder magazine 2009 Top Project