E-M:/ Renovation of UM's School of Nat Res Building

["Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <ajs@sagady.com>]

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Enviro-Mich message from "Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <ajs@sagady.com>
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Date: Thu, 24 Sep 98 13:22:26 EDT
Message-ID: <vines.0uf8+Gzb0qA@bmail.itd.umich.edu>
X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
To: <enviro-mich@great-lakes.net>, <wild.ones@umich.edu>
From: "Barbara J. Wilson" <bjwilson@umich.edu>
Subject: ...no subject...

September 24, 1998 (26)
Contact:  Diane Swanbrow, (734) 647-4416
               or Joanne Nesbit, (734) 647-4418


'Green' renovation of century-old building at U-M offers tips
for environmentally responsible home and office renovations.


	ANN ARBOR---When the dust clears after the multimillion dollar 
renovation of the Dana Building on the University of Michigan campus, most 
people walking down the U-M Diag won't notice anything different.
	The outside of the building, a campus landmark that's approaching 100 
years old, will look just about the same.  It won't occupy an additional 
square inch of real estate, but the inside will contain 20 percent more 
useable space for the growing U-M School of Natural Resources and 
Environment (SNRE).  It will also be a healthier, more flexible place that 
uses half the energy of an average building its size and function.
	"Our students will not only learn in the building, but from the 
building," says SNRE Dean Daniel Mazmanian, who sees the renovation as a 
golden opportunity for the School to practice what it teaches by making 
environmental concerns a top priority.
	At a time of growing public awareness of environmental problems from 
global warming to urban sprawl, the project provides a model for "green" 
renovations of homes and offices.  
	Among the strategies used by project planners:
	--Instead of dumping used building materials in a landfill, salvage 
and re-use or recycle everything you can, from concrete and scrap metal to 
bricks, wood beams, and rafters.  In the Dana renovation, students and 
faculty member Robert Grese stacked more than 5,000 brick pavers, 
discovered under concrete slabs in the old building's courtyard, for later 
use in building landscaping.
	--Buy wood products only from certified suppliers who can document 
that the wood originated in forests that are sustainably managed.
	--Discuss environmental concerns with contractors before the job 
starts.  Let them know at the outset that it's important to you to save 
surrounding plants and trees.  In the Dana Building renovation, a crane 
used for roof reconstruction was carefully positioned to save mature trees 
and a garden of native plants.
	--Ask contractors to turn off equipment that's not being used, and 
even to pay for their own electricity as an economic incentive not to waste 
energy and create unnecessary air and noise pollution.
	--Maximize natural light by installing skylights, light tubes or more 
windows.  Install fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts, and consider 
daylight sensors and occupancy sensors in common spaces.
	--When deciding on different types of products or materials, consider 
the entire life cycle of the products, such as the embodied energy and heat 
insulation value of insulation materials.  Also, buying what's locally 
produced saves on transportation, and supports the local economy.
	--Use the least toxic products available for paint stripping, and for 
re-finishing walls, floors, and furniture.  
# # # # #
EDITORS:  The Internet homepage for the project, 
www.snre.umich.edu/greendana, created and maintained by SNRE graduate 
student Peter Reppe, includes information on the goals, strategies and 
status of the project, with links to tips for environmentally responsible 
practices on campus for U-M students, faculty , and staff.



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