Project Profile

Project: Covered atrium and connection walkways

Solution: When business growth projections cried out for a bigger space – it was a problem for the owners that became an architect's dream. The owners of the JF Ahern Building in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin needed as much space as possible to keep up with growth, but didn't want to tear down their existing office building. And with energy trends steadily climbing, they knew the new site had to be energy efficient in every possible way.

The owners and architects came up with a solution. The building owners worked out a way to acquire an adjacent property, creating the land needed to build a bigger space. PTD Architects came up with a design that maximized energy use and connected the old building with the new, 54,000 sq.ft. office facility.

JF Ahern Project Manager Craig Bahr says, "Connecting the new with the old presented challenges. We decided to create an atrium with a 20-foot separation between the two buildings with stairwells and connecting bridges at the ends. We used the Kalwall + Nanogel® skylights to create a covered atrium and bridge walkways for a span of 100 ft. The skylights have a pitch of 2:1% because the old building is two stories high and the new facility is three stories

With such a long walkway between the two buildings, the interior temperature must be stable in any climate. Kalwall suggested its newest Kalwall + Nanogel skylights with an R-value of 20. "It was a good solution," says Bahr. "The insulated skylight provides natural daylighting to the atrium and interior offices overlooking it. The system provides good insulating value with low solar heat gain. Also, I haven't noticed moisture on the interior ceiling. Claims that the Kalwall + Nanogel dampen sound appear to be accurate, as I don't notice when it rains."

Although energy data hasn't been collected yet, Bahr says walking through the Kalwall + Nanogel covered atrium is comfortable in all seasons. This feature is in line with other sustainable design aspects of the property. For example, the building uses collected rainwater to flush toilets, and ice frozen during off-peak energy hours to cool the facility during the day.

The JF Ahern Building is applying for LEED® Gold certification.

Architect:
PTD Architects

Nanogel partner: