Lawrence Tech Gets Green

by Jaime Pfeffer

April 21st, 2008 in Architecture, Conservation, Design, Detroit, Energy, Environment, Green

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It doesn’t have a boiler, furnace or even a gas meter, but something the A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center at Lawrence Technological University does have is a silver LEED rating.

The University recently received the special status from the U.S. Green Building Council, which promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health.

Featuring a 10,000-square-foot green roof which reduces runoff and associated pollutants, offers more effective insulation than traditional roofs, and expands and contracts with seasonal changes, as well as low-e glass to promote natural lighting, reduce heat loss and maximize daylight, the 42,000-square-foot Taubman Center also includes a system of weirs, tile fields and long-rooted grasses and trees that prevent 60 percent of the rainwater that falls on the adjacent campus quadrangle from running into the Rouge River.

As for keeping the building warm or cool, a field of 88 geothermal wells sunk 300 feet through five geological layers takes care of that.

Designed by Lawrence Tech alumnus Arthur Smith of Southfield’s Harley Ellis Devereaux, the Center also features sensor-controlled lighting and astronomically synchronized timers that adjust three times a day to accommodate seasonal lighting needs.

One of Detroit's biggest cheerleaders, Jaime Pfeffer moved to the Motor City from suburban Detroit five years ago. She started a blog, Girl in the D, in September 2004 to promote the positive aspects of Detroit and hasn't stopped touting Motown's good side since. Jaime left corporate America in 2007 to pursue her first love, writing.