Our Work
Amery Regional Medical Care Center
setting a regional precedent for sustainable site design
The early site plans for the Amery Regional Medical Center (ARMC) were traditional and did not meet the sustainability aspirations of the hospital. After exposure to low-impact development (LID) principles and benefits by EOR, the ARMC resolved to provide a facility that would promote human health and wellness through an ecologically enhanced environment.
The new objective of the ARMC site plan was to create a synergy between the hospital, the Apple River, and the greater Amery community. By incorporating LID, the ARMC was able to promote human health and wellness through a sustainable and ecologically enhanced environment that helps to support and reinforce the holistic care that ARMC offers to the community.
Highlights of the sustainable LID site plan include:
- over 1/2-acre green roof
- integrated filtration and infiltration bioretention facilities
- porous fire-access lane
- comprehensive prairie restoration
- community nature trail system
- environmental education signage
- a rest area overlooking the Apple River
- raptor nest installation
Upon completion of this project:
EOR’s site management of water quality and quantity surpassed both county and Wisconsin DNR requirements and a 95% reduction in total suspended solids (TSS) is estimated for post-developed conditions. The site’s peak discharge rates and total water runoff volumes for post-developed conditions will not exceed pre-development peak discharge rates and total water runoff volumes for the 2-and 100-year storm events.
Even prior to its completion in the fall of 2007, EOR’s sustainable site design approach for the Amery Regional Medical Center had already become an established LID precedent for site design in rural communities throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota.