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Currents

An Energy Newsletter for Local Governments

AIA's Top Ten Green Projects Showcase Environmentally Responsible Design, Redevelopment of Viable Brownfields

Herman Miller, Zeeland, Mich.,
Krueck & Sexton Architects, Chicago
URL: http://www.aiatopten.org/hpb/overview.cfm?ProjectID=270

At the most fundamental level, reuse of a building is one of the most sustainable strategies available. This project restores, revitalizes and transforms a classic, but aging Modern building into an environmentally responsive, high-quality workplace, exemplifying Herman Miller's core values of human-centered, spirited and purposeful design. Located on the company's main campus, this two-story 1974 office building housed Herman Miller's executives until 1997. The architects stripped the building to structure and rebuilt it with minimal finishes, which utilize over 50 percent recycled content. The floor plates are organized to provide maximum daylight penetration and 100 percent line-of-sight to the landscape. With 69 percent of its total energy produced on-site, the redesign achieves a 29 percent reduction in energy consumption, mainly through envelope improvements and high-efficiency mechanical equipment and lighting. The project also supports the regional economy, with 57 percent of construction materials sourced within 500 miles.

Jury Comments: As if Saarinen had returned with more tools and an additional 30 years' experience in sustainable use, good light, and air, this sweet little exposed-structure box shows that the Top 10 is also about extending the life of existing buildings in clever ways.