By Mignon O=E2=80=99Young, Editor
Domino=E2=80=99s Pizza, Ave Maria College, and = SchoolPictures.com. How are=20 these 3 connected? The new headquarters of SchoolPictures.com is = housed in=20 buildings that used to belong to Ave Maria College which was founded by = Thomas=20 S. Monaghan, the founder of Domino=E2=80=99s Pizza. But more = important than that=20 fact is that SchoolPictures.com=E2=80=99s new home will become the first = LEED certified=20 commercial building in Ypsilanti, a 4.2 square mile city near Ann Arbor, = Michigan.
Founder and President of SchoolPictures.com Mr. Skip Cerier is the = instigator=20 of greening this project that is his pride and joy. In 2007/2008, = to=20 accommodate his expansion plans for his 2 year old company, Skip = purchased a=20 property vacated by the Ave Maria College: 2 elementary school = buildings=20 built in the 1940s, an 1864 civil war-era house renovated to the = original=20 Victorian style, and a 3.5 acre campus park.
The City of Ypsilanti asked Skip to save the buildings due to their =
location=20
in the historic district. After extensive research on
The green renovation of the property started with the site=E2=80=99s = brownfield clean=20 up and the school buildings=E2=80=99 asbestos and lead paint clean = up. Afterwards,=20 the labor intensive process of careful deconstruction began and resulted = in the=20 recycling of 72 tons of materials which is 80% of the total debris = removed from=20 the buildings. One of the challenges that Skip faced was finding a = company=20 to take away the construction waste and debris. Back in 2008, he = found=20 only one company that would take away the segregated waste and recycling = bins. As a point of reference, the City and County of San = Francisco=20 adopted in 2006 an ordinance that mandates mixed C&D debris be = transported=20 off-site and a minimum of 65% of it be recycled. San Francisco's=20 designated waste management company started this practice much earlier = than=20 2006.
The next phase of recycling involved saving much of the finish = materials that=20 were deserving of a second life: brick characterized by horizontal = groove=20 lines and masonry blocks finished with a sea foam green glaze. = Thus,=20 thoughtful care went into the cleaning and re-use of these materials = mostly in=20 situ. What brick that could not remain on the exterior walls went = into new=20 infill walls such as bathroom partitions and privacy walls. What = blocks=20 that were covered with years of paint were stripped of their coatings = with heat=20 guns and returned to their original luster.
Responsible recycling strategies plus a little extra legwork were = also=20 applied to the treatment of furnishings left behind by the = college. The=20 library equipment and shelving were donated to schools throughout the = state of=20 Michigan. After some research, Skip discovered that he could = donate the=20 100 abandoned CRT monitors to a local non-profit group whose mission is = to keep=20 kids off the streets. The CRT monitors would be used in its = computer=20 assembly class that teaches people how to build computers and the = finished=20 computers would get donated to senior citizens. How=E2=80=99s that = for a closed=20 recycling loop? Bravo!
Deconstruction and recycling were tedious. Next came the easy=20 part. Skip and his design team incorporated energy and water = conservation=20 strategies in their renovated offices, facility for processing photos, = and=20 photography studios. The end result is a comfortable working = environment=20 for SchoolPictures.com=E2=80=99s employees and clients who go there to = get their photos=20 taken. Implemented strategies include the following:
- Insulation added to existing concrete masonry walls
- Commercial, double paned, aluminum windows with high STC = rating
- Light-diffusing, honeycomb blinds
- New hydronic base-board heating
- Increased number of heating/cooling zones for better = efficiency
- Energy Star rated appliances
- Low wattage fluorescent lamps
- Low voltage halogen lamps for wall accents
- Occupancy sensors
- Waterless urinals (which should save 30,000 gallons of water per = year)=20
- Carpet tile flooring with recycled backing
- Kitchen countertops made from recycled beer bottles
- Green roofs
The project currently awaits its LEED Silver plaque. As a = follow up to=20 greening the project post-construction, Skip is purchasing renewable = energy for=20 the facility and is considering the requirements for installing a wind = turbine=20 on the property. Per Skip Cerier, the company=E2=80=99s goal = =E2=80=9Cis to reduce our=20 carbon footprint during the construction phase as well as the utility of = the new=20 facility. It=E2=80=99s very unusual for a photo company to do this = type of=20 project.=E2=80=9D
Indeed, SchoolPictures.com is a rare example of a small, = for-profit=20 company that practices social and environmental responsibilities=20 simultaneously. Recognizing the huge financial shortfalls in the = school=20 districts upon which Skip built the company=E2=80=99s core mission, the = company recycles=20 back part of its profit to its clients--the students and their = schools. =20 The company has contributed more than $2.5 million to the 170 plus = schools that=20 it has served in the last 5 years since inception. In developing = his=20 company=E2=80=99s project, Skip wisely recognized the long term = environmental and=20 economic benefits of his investment in implementing creative and = sustainable=20 solutions.
![3D"Directory](3D"http://dir.blogflux.com/images/80x15.gif")
Posted by: |