( CNN ) -- Green living is a spiritual calling for a group of Christian women in the upper Midwest . Call it a heavenly approach to being good stewards of the Earth . While most people do n't think about sustainable buildings in a spiritual light , the Benedictine Women of Madison , Wisconsin , believe they should . The ecumenical order 's new Holy Wisdom Monastery scored the highest number of points ever awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council 's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) rating system for new construction . Holy Wisdom Monastery is run by three Benedictine sisters . The idea that they wanted to build the most sustainable , cutting-edge , eco-friendly building in the United States is surprising to some ; but given the order 's mission , it 's an obvious fit for the women . `` People who know us see it as falling out of our mission . They see it as something they would expect from us , '' Sister Mary David Walgenbach said . One of the order 's core values is `` Care for the Earth . '' `` People who do n't know us , who come into the building , are surprised by its elegance and simplicity . And they ask the same question : 'Why would a small community of women do such a thing ? ' '' said Walgenbach . `` But when we talk to them about who we are and why we think it 's important to do this , and , in our day and age , why it 's even more important that our religious people think about caring of the Earth , then they 're very open to that . '' Also surprising : the building 's sustainability statistics . Holy Wisdom Monastery sits on 130 rural acres , just outside Madison . The original building , once a Catholic high school for girls , was torn down and 99.75 percent of the material was either reused or recycled . Hoffman LLC designed and built the monastery at a cost of $ 246 per square foot , or just over $ 7.5 million for demolition through construction . `` There 's a long list of reasons this building is the greenest in the U.S. right now , '' said company owner Paul Hoffman . `` For one , the building is projected to save at least 60 percent on energy costs alone . '' That 's because the heating and cooling systems are powered by 39 geothermal wells , closed-loop wells sunk deep in the earth . Hoffman says the geothermal wells work so efficiently that on some days , the monastery actually sells energy to the utility , instead of buying it . Photovoltaic lights , which are cells that convert sunlight into electricity , are used in the parking lot . Another set of photovoltaic cells on the monastery 's roof generates 15 percent of the building 's energy needs . Eventually the monastery hopes to generate all of its own energy from on-site renewable sources . The windows in the monastery are unique . They were specially designed for the building using a new technique . `` We used Andersen wood windows and they developed a special highly sustainable window with special glazing , '' Hoffman said . `` So there 's absolutely no blinds , shades , or draperies in the building because the glass is the thing that transmits the light , but eliminates the glare , yet grabs the solar heat gains . '' Hoffman hired the green consulting firm Vertegy , based in St. Louis , Missouri , to help coordinate the many complex aspects involved in constructing a sustainable building and completing the very complicated U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification process . Construction methods for a green building are very different from traditional ones , according to Thomas Taylor , Vertegy 's general manager . `` The person who designs the structure of the building , the person who designs the mechanical systems like the air conditioning , the people who design the plumbing , and even the outside landscape , they all have to work together , '' he said . `` In recent times in design and construction , they have n't worked together . They 've worked kind of in a bubble . '' Then , Taylor added , `` one person brings it all together , puts it on a drawing and then the contractor goes out and builds it . '' That process does n't work very well for green projects , he said . `` This is a situation where we tried to take the talents of all those people , integrate them so they 're doing their work at one time , and they 're really being mindful of each other and supportive of each other 's disciplines and needs , in order to maximize the energy efficiency , the water efficiency , the impact on the environment that their own discipline might have '' as the building is being constructed , Taylor said . While the monastery officially opened last August , the Benedictine sisters just found out last month their building achieved the highest LEED Platinum rating ever awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council for a new construction building , 63 out of a possible 69 points . And that gives the Benedictine sisters a heavenly end to their monastery construction project .
Benedictine Women in U.S. win award for greenest new building in Wisconsin Monastery features geothermal heating , photovoltaic lights , specially designed windows . Building is projected to save 99.75 percent on energy costs alone . Paul Hoffman LLC designed and built monastery at a cost of 246 .