Harper Woods is getting a green thumbs up now that its public library has been awarded silver LEED certification for environmental design by the U.S. Green Building Council. 
LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design , certification is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The recent improvements and expansion of the Harper Woods Public Library feature a number of environmentally friendly features.
"The basic building is still here but we have totally renovated it," says Suzanne Kent, the adult services librarian for the Harper Woods Public Library. "Everything is new."
Every stage of the renovation demonstrated the library's commitment to sustainable practices: More than 91 percent of the construction debris was diverted from landfills and recycled. The building utilizes low-flow toilets, faucets and other water-saving technology, cutting the library's water usage in half and saving nearly 100,000 gallons of water each year. It also installed high-efficiency lighting throughout the structure, using motion sensors and other technology to save electricity.
Furthermore, the building has been heavily insulated and is equipped with high-efficiency furnaces and air conditioners, making it 36 percent more energy efficient than what is required by current energy codes. Its exterior glazing also helps cut down on how much heat is absorbed from the sun, helping keep it cool during the summer months.
Of the construction materials, 17 percent were recycled, including much of the building's steel, glass and drywall. Construction workers also reused 87 percent of the original building's materials. And as if that weren't enough, nearly half of all materials came from within 500 miles of the Harper's Woods, cutting down on pollution caused by transportation.
Overall, the building nearly tripled in size from 6,400 to 17,750 square feet by making the first floor and basement accessible to patrons, along with adding a west wing. Voters approved a $3.1 million millage in 2003 to renovate and expand the Kennedy Memorial library, originally built in 1964. The project took a little more than a year before it reopened in October of 2005. The LEED certification completes the renovation.
Source: Suzanne Kent, adult services librarian for the Harper Woods Public Library
Writer: Jon Zemke
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