Green Building Elements

The headquarters of a construction firm in Michigan has the distinction of being the first building to achieve LEED “double platinum” certification. What is more, according to the company, the cost of construction was no greater than conventional building practices.

The Christman Construction offices in Lansing MI occupy roughly half of the 64,000 square foot building which was initially built in 1928. The project cost $12 million, and also benefited from brownfield credits as well as state and federal historic preservation tax credits.

The project managed to achieve the unprecedented “double platinum” by registering the Core and Shell using LEED CS for the building renovation, and then separately registering the interior build-out with LEED CI (Commercial Interiors). Other tenants in the building may or may not pursue LEED certification for their spaces.

In addition to meeting the requirements for LEED for both the building core and shell and the Christman office interiors, the project also followed the guidelines for historic preservation for this building:

All of the preservation work on the building was approved by the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service to ensure that standards protecting the National Register building were upheld. Restoration of historically significant building features included the main entrance doors and plaques, the mica shade light fixtures and Pewabic wall tiles in the main hall, and the light fixtures and verdigris bronze handrail finish in the stairwell and lower level. Other restored and reused building components included door hardware, wood trim, wood windows, and floors in the entry and historic stair made of Bluestone or black and white linoleum. Bricks salvaged from the removal of the penthouse were used to patch exterior walls.

The project reused more than 90% of the existing building exterior. The building also allows extensive natural daylight and views to almost all spaces in the building. Building systems include individually controlled HVAC systems for inhabitant comfort. A computerized building management system (BMS) manages the HVAC and lighting to maximize efficiency and maintain comfort based on occupancy and climatic conditions. Building maintenance is also connected to the BMS.

Recycling was also an important aspect of the construction.

By weight, 77% of all CI project construction and demolition waste was diverted from the landfill through a reclamation and recycling program. Many components of the building were reused thereby tapping the inherent embodied energy and avoiding the need to use more energy and resources to produce new products.

Building Information:
Size: 64,000 square feet
Architect: Smith Group
LEED-CS Platinum (Mutual Building core and shell) and LEED-CI Platinum (Christman office build-out)
Construction cost: $12 million
Builder and Owner: Christman Construction Inc.

Christman Press Release
Christman Case Study (PDF)
Crain’s Detroit Business

6/13: edited to add Building Information

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