BKV Group, a holistic multidisciplinary design firm, has broken ground on the Howard Lake Library in Howard Lake, Minnesota – the first net-zero library in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. The 7,000-square-foot facility is being constructed in Central Park and is expected to open at the end of 2024. It will replace an existing two-story building that has served as a library since 1979.
The new Howard Lake Library will generate energy onsite using clean renewable resources equal to or greater than total energy consumed – making it net zero energy efficient. Contegrity Group Inc., of Little Falls, Minnesota serves as construction manager while Minneapolis based Precipitate provided consulting services for this project’s net zero goal achievement.
“Net zero libraries are still relatively rare across America,” said Susan Morgan AIA LEED AP BD+C who leads BKV Group’s library practice group leader “with most sub 15k square foot profiles located within large urban areas.”
