Justice Center Marks First Green Building in Dane County

MADISON, Wis. — The new $44 million Dane County Justice Center, the county’s first green building, opened its doors in January 2006.


Designed by architects from Leonard Parker, The Durrant Group Inc., The Weidt Group and Miron Construction Company, the nine-story, 216,000-square-foot building houses courtrooms, judges’ chambers, jury assembly rooms, a pressroom, a cafeteria, and office space for city and county officials.


Approximately $400,000 of the project’s overall budget was allocated to green building costs in order to meet the county’s building requirements and achieve the equivalent of a Silver LEED rating.


Built on a salvaged construction site, the structure features an energy-efficient curtain wall system that uses low-emission glass to reduce heat gain. The four-sided convex and concave design of the curtain wall fits the building’s contours and provides natural ventilation through operable windows that were manufactured as part of the wall system.


The window system was also designed to allow enough daylight to reduce energy costs. A recent report estimates that the center will be able to save up to 50 percent in electricity consumption and 37 percent in overall annual operating energy.


Located next to the state capitol, the center complies with city height limitations and space restrictions. The city of Madison does not permit any structure to exceed the 285-foot dome of the state capitol building. The span of the window system required that the building maintain the minimum space requirement between buildings.


Simmons Building Products Inc. of Milwaukee served as the general contractor for the project.