Green Building Strategies

Green building practices typically make optimal use of natural light, employ the sun, the wind and the earth for heating and cooling, and incorporate water-efficient landscaping, as well as local products and recycled and recyclable materials. The Ryerson Woods Welcome Center incorporates many of these strategies, providing ideas and inspiration to individuals, businesses and organizations wanting to incorporate green building practices in their plans for building or remodeling.

Light

The orientation of any building is key to green design. The Welcome Center has an east-west orientation to maximize southern exposure. An extended overhang blocks direct rays of the sun from the south during the height of the summer, while still letting in plenty of natural light. Large sliding shutters serve as shading devices on the east and west sides of the building. Many of the window shades are made of a special material to disperse the heat of the sun, yet let in plenty of light.

Rainwater

Underneath the office area is a cistern, a cement tank used as a reservoir to hold rainwater collected from the rooftop. In the event of a fire, the water in the cistern will be used to protect the Welcome Center and other buildings in the farm area. A second, smaller cistern outside of the building collects rainwater for watering plants. When the cisterns are full, excess water is channeled into a large rain garden.

Two rain gardens, located in the center of the circular driveway and on the south side of the building, capture and hold storm runoff. The gardens allow the rainwater to be absorbed into the soil, replenishing groundwater instead of rushing over land to the nearby Des Plaines River, causing erosion.

An experimental porous asphalt parking lot is the first of its kind in Lake County. Its design allows rainwater to soak through the pavement into a deep layer of gravel, permitting the rain to filter into the groundwater. Rain runs off of regular asphalt and concrete paving into the surrounding landscape, washing traces of oil, gas, grease, road salt and other pollutants into the nearest streams. Our parking lot’s design reduces stream pollution.

Natural Temperature Control

The geothermal exchange system depends on 12 wells drilled approximately 150 feet deep in an open area south of the Welcome Center. The wells contain tubes that are filled with freeze-resistant liquid and connected to the building's heating and air conditioning system. As the fluid is passed through the system of wells, it warms or cools to match the moderate temperature of the earth underground, which stays about 55 degrees Farenheit year-round. In the winter, the fluid warms and that heat is transferred to the heating system. As a result, the furnace needs to heat indoor air from roughly 55 degrees to room temperature, a significant energy savings over needing to heat it up from colder temperatures of outdoor air. The Center's air conditioning works the same way. The geo-exchange wells dissipate summer heat from the building into the cooler ground.

Recycled and Recyclable Materials

Materials used in building and finishing are recycled - and recyclable - to whatever extent feasible. Recycled plastics, tile and carpet surfaces are evident throughout the building. Less obvious is the textured cement block in the foyer, which includes fly ash and blast furnace slag, industrial manufacturing byproducts that typically end up in a landfill. Pressed wheatboard, a renewable resource made from wheat stalks leftover after harvest, has been used throughout the Center for shelving, countertops, wallboards and table tops.

Wherever we couldn’t take advantage of recycled materials, we made sure to buy recyclable products. For example, our office furniture can eventually be recycled when worn out, instead of ending up in a landfill. Our metal roof is not only made using recycled metal, it ultimately can be recycled after its 50-year life expectancy.

Finally, we used materials from local sources wherever feasible to reduce energy use for transportation.

Finishing

Many of the wall and ceiling areas were purposely left exposed. Though untraditional, we chose to put the insulation on the outside. This allowed us to save resources by using less drywall and ceiling tile in the interior, creating a rustic and open aesthetic. And by using special installation techniques, we receive the added bonus of significantly increasing the insulation’s effectiveness, reducing the amount of air leakage, and lowering our energy costs.

The Ryerson Woods Welcome Center was funded primarily through voter-approved bonds, supplemented by grants from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and other sources. Architect: Serena Sturm Architects, Northbrook.