Secluded sanctuary: Alnoba leadership training center

This exemplary project reminds us that our buildings can be both sustainable and beautiful, comfortable and efficient,” said Building Team Awards judge Bill Kline, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, Vice President and Healthcare Studio Leader at SmithGroupJJR.

The 14,000-sf Alnoba leadership training center is the first project in New England to meet the quality and building performance standards prescribed by the Passive House energy model. A highly insulated shell—12 to 14 inches thick, incorporating triple-pane thermally insulated windows from Germany—wraps the entire building to achieve solar heat recovery. Five radiant-floor heating zones within the slabs cover 75% of the public spaces. 

The Building Team went to great lengths to meet the stringent performance standards while realizing the owner’s design vision. This includes timber frames that were built using historic hand tools and traditional methods to ensure authenticity, beauty, and strength.

Reclaimed and recreated timber frames and triple-pane thermally insulated windows highlight the groundbreaking Passive House design of the Alnoba leadership development center. Trent Bell Photography.

Building Team – Submitting firm, general contractor Callahan Construction Managers Owner Kensington Investment Company Architect GO Logic Structural engineer Becker Structural Engineers Mechanical Petersen Engineering Electrical Engineered Building Systems Plumbing engineer Granite State Plumbing and Heating

General Information – Size 14,000 sf Cost $10.4 million Construction time November 2014 to August 2016 Delivery method GMP

Trent Bell Photography.

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