Although it may seem strange that the city made famous by Big Blue is going green, but it's smart business for Ann Arbor-based A3C Collaborative Architecture.
The firm is turning its headquarters, a historic building at 210 E Huron across the street from the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum, into a living example of how green building can work and why it's a good idea.
"We're doing this to become an advocate for green architecture and building practices," says Tom Glendening, project manager for A3C's renovations. "It's important for us to walk the talk."
The renovation will accomplish a lot of green firsts in Ann Arbor, including the first green roof on a downtown building, the first downtown geothermal heating and cooling system, the first company to meet the city's 30 percent challenge and the first building to go for LEED gold status.
"We're setting the precedent with the city," says Aubrey Kane, marketing manager for A3C. "We're kinda writing the book on this as we go."
The two-story building was originally built in the 1920s for retail and office space on the first and second floors, respectively. The renovation will essentially give the building three floors. The first floor will be kept as 6,500 square feet of retail space. The second floor will remain the offices for A3C. It will also build a conference room area on the building's green roof, which it will make available for meetings by city officials and local non-profits.
"We're really trying to make it a community resource," Kane says.
The green roof will showcase a couple of different types of green roofs, which will absorb storm water and keep the building cooler. The roof will also have solar panels and possibly wind turbines. These are expected to allow the building to generate more than 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources, a goal the city set for itself to accomplish by 2010.
The inside will use a number of renewable options, such as recycled carpet and other sustainable building materials. The geothermal heating and cooling system, improved ventilation and skylights will also go a long way toward cutting down the amount of energy the building uses.
Work began this summer and is expected to be finished in October.
Source: Tom Glendening, project manager and Aubrey Kane, marketing manager for A3C
Writer: Jon Zemke
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