Tour our eco-friendly monastery

Hospitality is one of the core values of Benedictine spirituality. One way we live out this value is by providing tours of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Tour our ‘green’ monastery building, dedicated in November 2009, and certified by the US Green Building Council in 2010 at the platinum level, with 63 out of a possible 69 points on the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) New Construction-v2.2 scale. Learn about geothermal heating and cooling, renewable resources, daylighting, photo voltaic cells, rain gardens, pervious concrete, green roofs, solar tubes and more!

For more information on our ‘green’ building, visit our LEED certified building page, refer to our LEED certification report, our green building blog posts, or our feature article in High Performing Buildings.

Self-guided and guided tours

  1. Self-guided: Individuals can follow the self-guided tour brochure, available in our brochure racks, when the building is open. Weekday hours are 8:00 am – 4:30 pm and weekend hours vary (please call ahead).
  2. Guided: Groups may schedule a guided tour by contacting Jason Huett at jhuett@benedictinewomen.org, 608-836-1631, x121.

About our tour guides

Greg Armstrong
Greg is the director of land management, environmental education and monastery staff liaison with the Friends of Wisdom Prairie. He is also the director emeritus of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum.

Mark Hanson
Mark is the director of sustainable services at Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction, Inc., the company that provided planning, design and management services for the new monastery building.

Bill-RosholtBill Rosholt
Bill is a member of Sunday Assembly, our worshiping community. Bill has an avid interest in the LEED certification process.

neal-smith-headshotNeal Smith
Neal is the financial and facility consultant at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Neal was involved, from start to finish, with the design and construction of the new monastery building, and previously served as the executive director for 25 years before his retirement in June 2012.

A sample of construction and design features covered in building tours

Photos top to bottom: 1) Laying the pipes for the geothermal heating/cooling system; 2) Building mechanical systems; 3) Flooring from renewable wood sources, baptismal font from local building materials and natural lighting through custom glazed windows and skylight and 4) natural lighting through solar tubes (photo credits: top photo – Jon Evans, Sustainable Engineering Group, LLC, bottom photos – copyright Fotografix, courtesy of Hoffman LLC)