The Darlington Community School District selected Hoffman in August 2014 to develop a master plan for improving the Darlington High School/Middle School/Elementary School campus. Discussions included moving athletic fields, connecting the existing two school buildings, and identifying where the District could add space and programs. District and high school staff and community members listed the library/media/technology center; the buildings’ infrastructure; the field house; and the athletic fields as critical components of the master plan.

 While these are older existing schools, vast improvements have been made to them, especially in energy and solar and indoor air and lighting quality. In 2017, the library media center was remodeled and re-positioned to allow flexible, collaborative student use in a 21st century environment and take advantage of natural light. Other areas upgraded were tech ed, the fabrication lab, and the art center. The following year a full renovation of the school’s three science labs and support spaces was completed.

Concurrent with these design efforts, Hoffman assisted the District with the installation of their new Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System. With solar panels installed on the roof of the Darlington Elementary-Middle School, the District saw this effort as a way to gain energy savings, reduce their carbon footprint, and educate their students and community.
Once completed, the solar installment at Darlington was Wisconsin’s largest solar array for a public school district. The installation was so successful that plans are underway to enlarge and expand the system.

The Darlington Community School District selected Hoffman in August 2014 to develop a master plan for improving the Darlington High School/Middle School/Elementary School campus. Discussions included moving athletic fields, connecting the existing two school buildings, and identifying where the District could add space and programs. District and high school staff and community members listed the library/media/technology center; the buildings’ infrastructure; the field house; and the athletic fields as critical components of the master plan.

 While these are older existing schools, vast improvements have been made to them, especially in energy and solar and indoor air and lighting quality. In 2017, the library media center was remodeled and re-positioned to allow flexible, collaborative student use in a 21st century environment and take advantage of natural light. Other areas upgraded were tech ed, the fabrication lab, and the art center. The following year a full renovation of the school’s three science labs and support spaces was completed.

Concurrent with these design efforts, Hoffman assisted the District with the installation of their new Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System. With solar panels installed on the roof of the Darlington Elementary-Middle School, the District saw this effort as a way to gain energy savings, reduce their carbon footprint, and educate their students and community.
Once completed, the solar installment at Darlington was Wisconsin’s largest solar array for a public school district. The installation was so successful that plans are underway to enlarge and expand the system.

When the Benedictine Women of Madison concluded that their obsolete, energy-inefficient, former boarding school needed to be replaced with a smaller building that would effectively support their mission and vision, they required that all aspects of the project be designed to achieve a very high level of sustainability—a LEED® Platinum rating. What they received was the highest-rated LEED-NC Platinum building in the country to date. Achieving 63 out of a possible 69 points under LEED-NC v2.2, Holy Wisdom Monastery was completed at a total project square foot cost of $246. Among the many sustainable features that contributed to the record number of LEED points were:
• Photovoltaic panels on the roof provide 13% of total energy cost. The system is expandable and the goal is to eventually provide 100% of the monastery’s energy needs on a net basis from on-site, renewable sources—and a zero carbon footprint.
• Specially designed, high-performance Andersen® windows keep heat losses/gains to a minimal and provide abundant daylight and aesthetic prairie views.
• An efficient geothermal heating and cooling system uses 39 closed-loop wells, each 300 feet deep.
• A white, membrane roof, highly reflective pavers, and vegetated (“green”) roofs help keep the surroundings cool.
• Barrels collect rain water for landscape irrigation.
• Bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource, was used for the Assembly Room floor and the ceilings of the Oratory and Meditation Chapel.

The Cenacle Sisters, an international Catholic order, asked Hoffman to evaluate three of their North American Province locations, one being Ronkonkoma, New York. Following a use-evaluation of their existing building, it was determined that the convent and retreat center—which was double the space needed by the Sisters—would not meet their future needs in its current state, and was not a candidate for renovation. The Sisters decided to have Hoffman responsibly deconstruct the existing building and then build a new 46,000 square foot convent and retreat center on the same location. Designed to address the Sisters evolving community, the new facility’s convent space features ten Sister rooms with two guest rooms in a household layout that includes kitchen, dining, living, laundry, and bathing rooms, chapel, a Sister community/library room, a craft/music room, and a central Sister dining room. The retreat portion of the facility touts 24 private rooms with bath, bathing spa, massage and dining areas, meeting and spiritual direction rooms, and a Four Season/Prayer space with covered loggia above. Integrating multiple environmentally friendly elements that reduce energy and water consumption and take advantage of natural light, the project was awarded LEED® Gold certification. Numerous features of the previous convent, such as stained glass, were salvaged and incorporated into the new building.

At 93,450 square feet, River Crest Elementary School—in Hudson, Wisconsin—has capacity for 588 kindergarten through fifth grade students with additional space for early childhood special education. Designed and built by Hoffman, River Crest is the Hudson School District’s sixth elementary school but its first to be created using sustainable principles. Achieving one of the district’s primary goals of being a sustainable model for the community, River Crest Elementary was awarded the designation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold from the U.S. Green Building Council. In earning the esteemed designation, River Crest became the first elementary school in Wisconsin, and just the second public elementary school in the nation, to receive Gold under the LEED for Schools Rating System. Sustainable highlights of River Crest's design and construction include:
• Abundant use of natural light.
• Energy-efficient mechanical and lighting systems.
• Water-reducing bathroom fixtures.
• Materials and products that contribute to a high indoor air quality.
• The use of local materials.
• Recycling of construction waste.

The Northland Pines School District in Wisconsin partnered with Hoffman when they decided to replace their existing high school with a new, highly sustainable 250,000 square foot facility that would be built on the same site where the existing school was located. Meeting the school district’s wish for a healthy, high-performance school, Northland Pines High School became the first LEED® Gold certified public high school in the United States. Notable sustainable features of the 600-student high school include the maximizing of natural light, the installation of water-reducing bathroom fixtures, the development of a sustainable site design, the recycling of construction waste, and the use of local materials and those that contribute to a high indoor air quality level.

When making plans for their new 76,000 square foot service center in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) was adamant that the facility be environmentally friendly and energy efficient, following Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines. Recognizing their expertise in sustainable design and project delivery, WPS selected Hoffman to design the facility. Notable sustainable features include the use of products manufactured with a high percentage of recycled content, plumbing fixtures designed to provide significant water savings, the inclusion of high clerestory windows that decrease the need for artificial lights, and the use of native vegetation on site that helps conserve water, reduce maintenance, and improve the surrounding environment. The service center, which includes office space, a vehicle service area and storage, and warehousing space for equipment, earned LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

A Wisconsin-based company wholly dedicated to sustaining the environment, U.S. Venture believed their 59,000 square foot, three-story facility should reflect their corporate value of environmental stewardship. A collaborative process between the U.S. Venture Design Team and Hoffman design and construction professionals allowed them to review the LEED Rating System and establish benchmarks in energy savings and sustainable design. Though U.S. Venture decided not to pursue LEED certification, they wanted their headquarters designed and built consistent with LEED Gold guidelines. Notable sustainable features of the building include 244 high-performance windows that provide work areas with generous amounts of daylight and expansive exterior views, the use of materials with low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds), the use of over 20,000 square feet of reclaimed materials, and design elements geared toward reducing energy costs by 18-20% and water costs by 40-45%.