The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts.
It is originally the home of Isabella Stewart Gardner, whose will called for her art collection be permanently exhibited "for the education and enjoyment of the public forever". SAK Enviornmenal LLC participated in an 75,000 square foot expansion to the museum to assist in design and construction administration of a geothermal heating and cooling system as part of the addition's LEED Gold USGBC Certification.
SAK Environmental oversaw the construction and permit compliance of an open-loop geothermal heating and cooling system for the historic Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum expansion project. SAK worked with the museum and their Project Management Team, Paratus Group of New York City, to provide geologic and engineering expertise in well design and construction, on-site inspection, compliance with contract documents, geologic and aquifer condition assessment, water quality testing, and system troubleshooting. The geothermal system, consisting of eight (8), 1,500 foot deep wells, is designed to provide up to 170 tons of cooling, allowing the Museum to become more energy independent and create less of a carbon footprint on the environment.
Proper construction was crucial to ensure the geothermal wells would achieve their maximum performance. SAK Environmental’s construction monitoring and geologic expertise were instrumental in producing a design modification to address a zone of soft, flaking bedrock that threatened to obstruct well water.
The geothermal well system is successfully providing efficient and cost-effective heating and cooling for the newly expanded and renovated Museum, adding energy efficiency to a number of green elements in the project.