ONLINE - Geothermal for Historic Buildings

Presented in cooperation with Glessner House & the Park District of Oak Park

Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth’s crust which can be harnessed for heating and cooling purposes. This green technology eliminates the dependence on fossil fuels and is an efficient way to provide optimum temperature and humidity conditions in historic buildings.

This program will be led by Mark Nussbaum of Architectural Consulting Engineers, who is currently overseeing the installation of geothermal systems in two National Historic Landmark buildings in the Chicago area: Pleasant Home, and Glessner House. The project at Chicago’s Glessner House (1887, H. H. Richardson, architect) is being undertaken with a generous Sustaining Cultural Heritage Grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Installation of the system at Pleasant Home in Oak Park (1897, George W. Maher, architect) represents a collaboration between the Park District of Oak Park and the Pleasant Home Foundation, and is funded through the Park District’s Capital Budget and a large Museum Grant from the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources.

During the presentation, Nussbaum and others involved in the projects will discuss how a geothermal system operates, the basic components including wells dug hundreds of feet deep, and how each building provided unique challenges in retrofitting the system to its specific architectural design.

The program will be recorded, and all attendees will receive a link afterwards which will remain active for seven days.

Register now: https://pleasant-home-foundation.square.site/