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BKV Group Breaks Ground on Region’s First Net-Zero Library
BKV Group, a holistic multidisciplinary design firm, broke ground on the Howard Lake Library in Howard Lake, Minnesota. The library is the first net-zero library in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, the firm announced.
The 7,000-square-foot facility is being constructed in the city’s newly created Central Park and is scheduled to open at the end of 2024. The new library will replace the current two-story building located a few blocks away, where the library has operated since 1979.
As a net-zero energy building, the new Howard Lake Library will generate energy on-site, using clean renewable resources in a quantity equal to or greater than the total amount of energy consumed. Contegrity Group, Inc., of Little Falls, Minnesota, is serving as the construction manager on the project. Minneapolis-based Precipitate provided net-zero consulting services.
“There are currently just a small handful of net-zero libraries across the country and those tend to be sub-15,000-square-foot profiles in large urban areas,” said Susan Morgan, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, who serves as BKV Group’s library practice group leader.
