Fact Sheet

Priorities

Above all, the project objective was to create a workplace that promoted the well-being and productivity of staff and visitors.
The Kresge Foundation invests in the development of hundreds of non-profit facilities each year. In planning its own construction project, the Foundation recognized an opportunity to model effective preservation and sustainability practices.

Restoration

The Kresge Foundation is headquartered on the 19th century Brooks family farmstead – an oasis in conventionally developed, suburban Troy, Michigan. In its early days, farmers worked the land and made their home here in close connection with nature.
The campus maintains the existing 19th century farm buildings on its three acre site, while adding a significant new structure and restoring the prairie landscape.
The new 19,500-square-foot building is designed to blend with and complement existing structures.

Environmental sustainability

The green building features in Kresge’s project combine cutting-edge technology and low-tech solutions. New technologies – including geothermal energy and sophisticated control systems – are complemented by simple strategies, such as careful location of windows and other light sources.

Green features

Materials selection: The newer portion of the Kresge headquarters incorporates 27% recycled materials. Seventy-six percent of building materials used came from within 500 miles of the site, reducing use of transportation fuel and expense. Retaining walls were formed with gabions-baskets of recycled paving material finished with crushed granite. These walls contain recycled concrete from the Kresge site – and other sites – sparing it from the landfill. Inside, the cores of furniture, doors, and millwork are made of rapidly renewable wheat board. Each of these, as well as the floor, is veneered in FSC-certified, sustainably harvested wood. Rapidly renewable linoleum floor was also selected. Interior paints are composed of natural ingredients. The Kresge staff is dedicated to an ongoing recycling and reduction program.
Geothermal HVAC: Forty geothermal wells plunge 400 feet into the earth below the parking area. Water moves through 1 1/4-inch pipes to three heat pumps that serve buildings on the site. In the summer, the system moves heat from the building into the earth. The reverse happens in winter to maintain balance over the course of a year.
Natural lighting: The Kresge office building is oriented with its longest dimensions facing north and south. The east-west dimensions of this narrow building are relatively short. Fifty-two percent of the building’s north-south façade is glass, while only 29% of its east-west façade is glass. The differences in area and opacity allow cool northern daylight and controlled southern light to penetrate the building while reducing heat gained from morning and afternoon light. During the winter, when the sun is low in the sky, light and heat enter the building from overhanging sunshades on the building’s south sides. When the summer sun is high in the sky, the sunshades block hot, direct rays. Exterior sunshades and interior light shelves work together to bounce natural light deeply and evenly into the building’s interior. This “harvested” light is monitored and complemented by just the right amount of artificial lighting for a pleasant work experience with minimal use of energy.
Insulation: Two-thirds of the new building’s square footage is located in the lower courtyard level. Large portions of the building are embedded in the earth, where year-round temperatures remain near 55 degrees, cooling the interior in summer and insulating it in the winter. The Kresge office building is super-insulated. Its walls and roof provide double the thermal resistance of the typical office building.
Green roof: Green roofs are populated with drought-resistant native plants. Rather than deep soil, the rooftop plants are rooted in five fine layers of materials selected to irrigate foliage and protect the building’s interior.
Native plants: Approximately 72% of the site is covered with plant life native to this area that requires little maintenance. Rainfall supplies all the water required for the landscape, including the green roofs where a large cistern provides supplemental rainwater.
Reduced water use: The site’s water system reduces demand on the community’s drinking water and storm water systems. It also produces minimal sanitary waste water. Rain water is collected on site, filtered and recharged into the soil. Water is filtered through natural processes including a wetland and bio-swales – shallow, vegetation-filled channels. One bio-swale can be found along the parking area. Fixtures draw minimal water for use inside the building.
Parking areas: The parking area is covered with pervious pavers resting on layers of crushed rock. Water soaks through the pavers and filters into the ground naturally. If the lot were impervious, rainwater collected on its surface would wash harmful automotive chemicals into the city’s storm water system. Parking pavers and building rooftops are light in color to minimize heat pollution, a major problem in urban areas.

Need for renovation

The Foundation first moved to its current site in 1984, renovating it and adding a new facility at that time. Since then, the Foundation realized that it had outgrown its headquarters and announced the most recent construction/renovation project in 2004 (resulting in the current facility).
After occupying a temporary space for approximately 20 months, Kresge employees returned to their permanent headquarters in January 2006.

If you have questions, e-mail the Grants Inquiry Coordinator or call 248-643-9630.