Hotchkiss Biomass Power Plant

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HOTCHKISS BIOMASS POWER PLANT

LAKEVILLE, CT, USA
CENTERBROOK ARCHITECTS & PLANNERS
2012

Hotchkiss School is an iconic landmark that manifests the commitment of the school to becoming carbon-neutral. The undulating green roof unites the surrounding landscape and supports the general concept. The facility is designed as a heat plant open to students, creating a living classroom.

The facility can heat the school, more than 600 residents and 85 buildings, that makes about 111,500 m2 of the campus. It almost halves gas emissions by replacing oil-fired boiled plants with woodchips. Two biomass boilers burn the waste wood supplied by sustainably harvested local forests. During the burning process, the waste ash occurs, afterwards, it is used as a fertilizer. An electrostatic precipitator prevents emissions. It is claimed by the International Panel on Climate Change that this technique is carbon-neutral. The CO2 produced during the burning process can be easily absorbed by the forest from which waste wood is supplied.

The green roof collects and filters the rainwater which afterwards goes to the ground. Materials used in the construction of the building are recyclable. The structure is made out of laminated wood. The interiors are full of natural light.

The mezzanine balconies inside the facility allow students and other groups to view and investigate the system with the biomass boilers. The performance data is saved by the displays on the walls and interactive computer consoles.