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| Carrie Shaeffer, LEED AP,
Vice President |
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Barton
Malow Headquarters
In an effort
to promote buildings that
are environmentally
responsible and healthy places
to live and work, Barton
Malow Company and Barton
Malow Design consider and
apply green building elements
in the planning and construction
of our projects. We are proud
that we incorporated green
building principles in the
design and construction of
our own corporate headquarters.
Our headquarters building
is located next to natural
wetlands and it was important
that the integrity of the
site was preserved. This
was to be our new home,
and protecting the delicate wetland
ecosystem was and is a
priority.
Planning and Design
 On
the most basic level, our headquarters is expressly
designed – in terms
of scale, materials, siting – to
complement rather than
overpower its natural wetlands
setting. Project Designer
Algis Bublys, FAIA, Vice
President of Barton
Malow Design, believes
a building should always
be “of
its time, of its place,” and
that’s what we have
striven for here: a sense
of openness and heightened
awareness of the landscape.
We planned for and observed
the rules of sustainable
design to a high degree:
Siting
and Landscaping
We did not
in any way disturb
vegetation, topography
or wildlife to create our headquarters.
Access (one narrow roadway)
does not disrupt the ecosystem.
Our plantings: 80 blue
spruce trees, which thrive in this
setting and climate; and
64,280 black-eyed susan
perennials to carpet the site. The flowers
are indigenous to southeastern
Michigan, known to prosper
near wetlands and to attract
native butterflies and
birds. We sought practicality and
drama to match the glory
of the wetlands.
Water
conservation
By means of
a dedicated drainage system,
rainwater that hits our
roof is carried to the wetlands
to help replenish water
levels. Two slightly pitched pipes
within the building, just
beneath the ceiling of
the topmost floor, channel this
water. By contrast, the
water from our parking lot, which
might be infused with oil
or salt, empties into a
separate system. We use motion-sensor
faucets in rest rooms to
reduce water waste.
Heating
and cooling
The
building was sited to allow
more natural sun to light
the interior in the winter
than the summer. Employees
can manually adjust the
temperature in their work areas within
a 3-degree range, and the
building is minutely zoned,
to avoid raising heat over
an unnecessarily wide area.
Materials
We
planned for flexibility, as well as sustainability
by selecting demountable
partitions, instead of
solid walls. This choice eliminates
dust during future renovations
and they are reusable,
which reduces landfill waste.
The building is
heavily insulated with high R-value windows, and the use of custom designed “clouds” focuses
light, reducing demand
for electricity. In addition,
energy-saving bulbs were
selected for use throughout
the building and the
lights automatically shut off during non-peak work hours.
Construction Measures
Special considerations
were taken during construction
to protect the wetlands
adjoining
our site and to reduce
construction waste.
Specifically,
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We erected a
double silt fence, straw bale berms, inlet
filters, and swales to prevent erosion and
to channel runoff and maintained them meticulously
during construction. |
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We limited the amount of grading,
thereby reducing the quantity of bare soil
subject to erosion and maintaining vegetation
to anchor the soil. |
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We stockpiled topsoil on the
site for later use. |
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We were distant from the wetland
when refueling. |
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We did not use any wood treated
with heavy metals. |
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We properly stored construction
materials and immediately disposed of waste – a
particular concern, considering the high
winds that frequent the area. |
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We ran a paperless jobsite
during construction. |
Everyday
Life at
Barton Malow Headquarters
Our “green” practices
didn’t end once
we moved in. Barton Malow
is committed to keeping
our
headquarters environmentally
friendly.
By policy, employees
use e-communication to
the greatest
degree possible to reduce
paper waste.
Lights are
on automatic timers in the evening; “night
owls” can reactivate
the system for their portion
of their floor for 40 minutes
at a time. They work comfortably,
and the lights turn off
automatically after they
leave.
A building-wide
recycling program includes
recycling
the usual office paper
waste, but also extends to the use
of recyclable cups and
trays in the building’s cafeteria.
Employees use washable mugs
in lieu of disposable coffee
cups to reduce landfill waste.
Even
our corporate art collection
supports nature and the environment. Nature and
landscapes comprise
the collection theme and
artwork is framed in natural
wood and matted with natural
linen fabric.
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