The Sonnentag

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Project Description

Ayres contracted with Eau Claire Community Complex (ECCC) to design the approximately 225,900-square-foot events complex called The Sonnentag on the former County Materials Corp. site between Menomonie Street and the Chippewa River in Eau Claire. The land was donated to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire by alumni John and Carolyn Sonnentag as the site for a 104,900-square-foot event facility, a 100-yard fieldhouse, the approximately 14,200-square-foot UW-Eau Claire Center for Health and Wellbeing, an approximately 20,700-square-foot Mayo Clinic Health System sports medicine and imaging clinic, and university athletic offices. The Sonnentag and the surrounding developments are known collectively as the County Materials Complex.

The Sonnentag achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold v4 BD+C: NC certification and a WELL Health Safety Rating. It is the largest LEED Gold-certified facility of its type in Wisconsin and Minnesota, according to the U.S. Green Building Council, which developed the LEED rating system.

Ayres’ involvement with the project began with providing ECCC general site planning, Phase 1 and 2 environmental site assessments/site investigations, and conceptual-stage architectural services for the events and recreation complex. Ayres wrote EPA cleanup grant applications and analyzed brownfield cleanup alternatives for sites that now comprise the County Materials Complex site. Ayres assisted with a successful application for a $500,000 Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Idle Industrial Site Redevelopment Grant and a $400,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant. The funds were used for remediation and demolition at the properties.

The Sonnentag Event Center hosts UW-Eau Claire athletics, regional athletic competitions, concerts, tradeshows, and conventions with a capacity of 5,000 people. It also includes 4,800 square feet of university athletic offices.

The fieldhouse is 81,300 square feet and has artificial turf suitable for athletic, club, and intramural sports practices and also is used by the community and Mayo Clinic sports rehabilitation and training personnel.

The two-story Center for Health and Wellbeing is a fitness and wellness facility incorporating strength and cardio training along with group exercise opportunities for students.

The Mayo Clinic Health System facility provides sports-related injury diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation; performance training; nutrition assistance; counseling and academic support; and research in cooperation with UW-Eau Claire.

Sustainability Features

Here are some of the many ways an exceptional commitment to sustainability was designed into the facilities:

  • 190 vertical geothermal wells under the parking area. The wells are 500 feet deep, and the entire well field comprises 36 miles of pipe that provide heating and cooling for the facilities – instead of using fossil fuels.

  • Goals of net-zero energy and net-zero carbon. This means the complex is designed to use 100% renewable, non-carbon-emitting energy sources. All electricity is to come from an off-site PV solar farm Xcel Energy is planning in cooperation with the university, and primary heating/cooling is supplied by a sizable on-site geothermal system.

  • The complex is an electric building with no fossil fuel consumption with the exception of the Mayo Clinic facility, which uses natural gas.

  • Indoor water use is reduced 30% and outdoor water use 50% compared to a calculated usage baseline specific to the Eau Claire area. The outdoor water use baseline is calculated using an EPA or LEED calculator. Out of the 8.6 acres of landscape area on The Sonnentag site, about 3 acres is irrigated (1.8 acres of irrigated lawn and 1.2 acres of irrigated planting beds), while approximately 5.6 acres is non-irrigated landscape (including 4.3 acres of native seed mix, 0.7 acre of stormwater plantings, 0.4 acre of rock mulch, and 0.1 acre of non-irrigated lawn).

  • Heavy use of native plantings. The landscape architecture plans placed over 2,500 native plants on the site, as well as large expanses of a shortgrass prairie seed mix.

  • Removal of 80% of suspended solids from stormwater runoff.

  • Green vehicle parking, which gives cleaner vehicles preferred locations in the parking lot.

  • 10 electric vehicle charging stations.

  • Bike and pedestrian friendly site. Bike paths go through and around the site, connecting to Eau Claire’s major bike path network. The site design also minimizes drive lanes adjacent to the building and creates landscape and hardscape features that prioritize pedestrians and walkers over vehicles. Most parking is kept away from the building.

  • LED lighting throughout the facility.

  • Building automation systems provide a high level of electrical and mechanical systems control. Sensors that monitor occupancy, daylight, and carbon dioxide tell the systems when they can turn off lights and/or reduce heating/cooling.

  • The building envelope is made efficient by high-performance insulation, energy-efficient wall systems that reduce thermal transfer, and windows and doors with improved thermal characteristics.

  • Monitoring continues after construction to understand the environmental impact of the advanced systems and to improve the systems’ performance.

  • The complex achieved LEED Gold v4 BD+C: NC certification. That stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for building design and construction for new construction.”

  • A WELL Health Safety Rating was achieved based on operations, maintenance, and emergency policies that improve occupants’ health and well-being.

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Project Information

Client's Name

Eau Claire Community Complex, Inc.

Location

Eau Claire, WI

Primary Service

Architecture

Market

Development + Commercial