EFS Profiles
The Greening of Dana
University of Michigan - School of Natural Resources and Environment
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Purpose: Greening the Campus
Please note that the copyright for this profile is retained by the institution.
Greening of Dana Renovation Project is intended to result in a building that makes a statement: a place where principles of environmental responsibility are not only taught, but upheld and demonstrated to the community. It will promote sustainability and health, and serve as a laboratory and educational center for ecological themes. The building will teach environmental sensitivity, respect, and awareness through its design and resource management. It will demonstrate how effective these ideas can be, and how transferable they are to other building situations. Local resources and local labor will be used as much as possible in the renovation and construction of the Dana building, benefiting the local economy and communities - an important part of sustainable design.
Greening of Dana Renovation Project Goals:
- Energy conservation and efficiency (radiant cooling ceiling panels)
- Use of renewable energy (photovoltaics)
- Increased daylight use (new atrium & skylight)
- Improved indoor air quality (new air handling systems and operable windows)
- Water conservation (compost toilets, waterless urinals & low flow fixtures in toilet rooms)
- Inclusion of operation costs in selecting mechanical equipment
- Material efficiency, increased recycled content/recycleability of building materials
- Life-cycle-based evaluation of environmental impacts
- Maximum reuse and recycling of components and materials from demolition (cooperation with local recycling and reuse facilities as well as use of re-milled wood from the old attic/roof used for trim/millwork)
The green material agenda is a significant part of the Dana renovation project. The design team used natural and recycled-content materials wherever possible and also considered where and how materials are produced when making decisions. There are trade-offs in this process, as many interesting and compelling materials are not yet made in the U.S. In several instances below, the importance of using a green material in the project so that students, faculty, and staff (and the University Facilites Planning and Design and Plant Maintenance groups) could see and learn about it outweighed the impacts of shipping it over great distances.
- Linoleum - Made from linseed oil, pine rosin, cork powder and pigments on a burlap or jute backing - used on floors in ground floor office and labs, 2nd floor teaching and prep labs, Environmental Spatial Analysis lab & Information Technology suite, closets, kitchens, mail room, and on kitchen counters.
- Carpet - 100% wool from Australia.
- Rubber - Made in Pennsylvania from recycled tires and EPDM manufacturing scraps - used on floors in ground floor corridors, stair landings throughout the building, and entry foyers.
- Bamboo - A short-rotation woody crop from China - 4th floor conference room floors and some drawer and cabinet fronts throughout the building.
- Casework (built-in cabinets and shelves) - sunflower hull (and soy resin) board - used for visible casework, wheatboard (made from wheat straw) - used for hidden casework, both made in Minnesota and used throughout the building.
- Countertops - Environ biocomposite (soy resins and recycled newspaper with pigments) - made in Minnesota and used throughout the building.
- Wood - Both remilled wood salvaged from the old Dana roof and sustainably harvested hardwood will be used for millwork (trim). Wood floors will remain and be refinished in the Landscape Architecture studios.
- Cork flooring - Sustainably harvested outer bark of the cork oak (Quercus suber) - 2nd floor conference rooms.
- Ceramic tile - recycled glass and ceramic (>55% recycled content) -bathroom floors and lower walls, textured tile on conventional bathroom floors and on composting toilet room floors.
- Paint - Low-VOC SafeCoat.
For additional information:
You can learn more about the Greening of Dana at http://www.snre.umich.edu/greendana/
This document was last modified on 02/20/2002 10:43:03 AM
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