Green Technology Training & Enterprise Center

With community spirit and a clear vision, the Village of just 771 people engaged in a monumental effort and commitment to future generations by gaining support for this unique training center.

The Village of Plain, Wisconsin is nestled peacefully amid rolling hills and farms just north of the Wisconsin River 45 miles west of Madison. With community spirit and a clear vision, the Village of just 771 people engaged in a monumental effort and commitment to future generations by gaining support for this unique training center. State funding for Flood Relief in 2008 was the springboard for this project followed by Federal EDA stimulus funding.

This is the first structure in a new business park established by the Village. Located at the intersection of LEED Parkway and Green Boulevard, even the address shows the village’s commitment to sustainability. Green design and simple technologies were used to create an enduring, flexible space that teaches each student at the Green Technology Training & Enterprise Center a lesson about sustainability, great architecture and small town pride.

The Green Technology Training & Enterprise Center’s (Green TTEC) mission is to provide regional workforce training for green energy trades to high school students, recent high school graduates, entry-level workers, displaced and/or undertrained workers and corporate employees.

To create a space that supports this mission, the design team crafted a building that inspires the community and region. Recognizing thoughtful scale and proportion in a small building just outside of a rural village, the design is timeless. Natural and regional materials including stone, brick and wood and compliment overhang details give the building warmth and a strong presence on the rolling prairie site. Other sustainable components incorporated in the building include:

• Use of renewable and recycled materials
• Integration of efficient plumbing fixtures
• Use of roof mounted PV array to generate a portion of the building’s energy requirements
• State-of-the-art energy technologies, systems and strategies
• Use of native/water efficient landscaping design, to eliminate the need for permanent irrigation