University of Michigan Walks the Talk

At a time of growing public awareness of environmental problems from global warming to urban sprawl, the S.T. Dana Building, which houses the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE), provides a model for "green" renovations of homes and offices.

"Our students will not only learn in the building, but from the building," says SNRE Dean Daniel Mazmanian, who sees the renovation as a golden opportunity for the School to practice what it teaches by making environmental concerns a top priority.

The outside of the building, a campus landmark that's approaching 100 years old, will look just about the same. It won't occupy an additional square inch of real estate, but the inside will contain 20 percent more useable space for the growing SNRE. It will also be a healthier, more flexible place that uses half the energy of an average building its size and function.

Begun in May 1998, it is one of the largest green construction projects in the US. The first phase enclosed an interior courtyard to create 11,000 square feet of program space and modified the existing roof and attic to provide 2,250 square feet of mechanical support space. Phase I which cost $7.1 million, is scheduled for completion in July 1999. Meanwhile, the second phase has just begun. With an estimated cost of $15 million, it will involve major systems upgrades including new plumbing, heating, ventilation and hood exhaust systems, plus significant improvements to fire protection and handicapped accessibility systems. New program facilities will be created on the fourth floor, and spaces not addressed in Phase I or other recent projects will be completely renovated. Some 39,000 net square feet of space is involved in this phase.

The project incorporates an impressive list of building features and construction protocols that promote energy and resource efficiency.

• Instead of dumping used building materials in a landfill, salvage and re-use or recycle everything possible, from concrete and scrap metal to bricks, wood beams, and rafters. Students and faculty member Robert Grese stacked more than 5,000 brick pavers, discovered under concrete slabs in the old building's courtyard, for later use in building landscaping.
• Buy wood products only from certified suppliers who can document that the wood originated in forests that are sustainably managed.
• Discuss environmental concerns with contractors before the job starts. Let them know at the outset that it's important to you to save surrounding plants and trees. In the Dana Building renovation, a crane used for roof reconstruction was carefully positioned to save mature trees and a garden of native plants.
• Ask contractors to turn off equipment that's not being used, and even to pay for their own electricity as an economic incentive not to waste energy and create unnecessary air and noise pollution.
• Maximize natural light by installing skylights, light tubes or more windows. Install fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts, and consider daylight sensors and occupancy sensors in common spaces.
• When deciding on different types of products or materials, consider the entire life cycle of the products, such as the embodied energy and heat insulation value of insulation materials. Also, buying what's locally produced saves on transportation, and supports the local economy.
• Use the least toxic products available for paint stripping, and for re-finishing walls, floors, and furniture.

These green building strategies flow from a more comprehensive list of project objectives: energy conservation and efficiency, increased daylight use, use of renewable energy (photovoltaics, solar hot water), consideration of operation costs when selecting mechanical equipment, material efficiency, increased recycled content/recycleability of building materials, life-cycle-based evaluation of environmental impacts, water conservation, use of rainwater for toilets, maximum reuse and recycling of components and materials from demolished building parts, every-day waste reduction programs, recycling of all inorganic and organic recyleables, improved indoor air quality and maximized educational impact. Helping them to implement these objectives are the architecture firms Quinn Evans/Architects and William McDonough + Partners.

A Web site called The Greening of Dana documents the project with statements of the goals and objectives, construction updates, a series of matrices that lay out design issues and color photos.