Our Green Headquarters
In June 2008, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded The Kresge Foundation headquarters a Platinum-level rating, the highest attainable level in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. LEED is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance “green” buildings.
Achieving LEED’s Platinum rating validates our aspiration to serve as a model of environmental conservation. “It also formalizes our commitment to being stewards of the environment and students of ever newer and better ways to foster sustainability in the workplace,” says Rip Rapson, president of the Kresge Foundation. “Excellent design, planning, and execution have contributed to making this an extraordinary office environment.”
In 2004, we took the visionary step of constructing a new, sustainably designed headquarters and renovating a historic building on our existing three-acre site in Troy, Michigan.
Our state-of-the-art facilities, which were completed in 2006, serve as a model of sustainable design and an educational resource for us and our community. The headquarters integrate a 19th century farmhouse and barn – part of our offices for many years – with a new contemporary two-level, 19,500-square-foot, glass and steel building. The construction process
and day-to-day maintenance provide valuable new knowledge and lessons that inform our grantmaking.
“One of the foundation’s core values is environmental conservation. We care deeply about sustainable building practices, environmental stewardship and sound land-use planning,” Rapson explains.
The headquarters has received the following awards:
- U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – Platinum-level rating, 2008
- American Council of Engineering Companies of New York – Platinum Award for Engineering Excellence, 2006
- American Institute of Architects – Chicago Environmental Design Award, 2006
- American Institute of Architects – Chicago Distinguished Building Award, 2006
- American Institute of Architects – Chicago Interior Architecture Award, 2006
- Commercial Real Estate Women – Detroit Impact Award for Redevelopment, 2007
- CORP! Magazine – Green Organization Award, 2009
For information on our facilities – building orientation and lighting, recycled materials, heating and cooling, insulation, green roof, parking area, and water usage – download The Kresge Foundation Headquarters: a Case Study in Building Green (PDF).
Design and Construction
The integrated design process is an essential first step in developing a high-performance facility. In this approach, design and construction team members talk through every aspect of the project before any actual work begins. In doing so, they carefully consider the consequences and implications
of each aspect of the project in order to achieve maximum efficiencies, especially in energy and water use.
We chose Valerio Dewalt Train Associates of Chicago as the lead architect on the project. Farr Associates, an architectural firm also from Chicago, served as the sustainability experts, and JM Olson Corp. of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, provided general contracting services. Other members of the team included civil, structural and acoustic/vibration engineers, historical preservationists, landscape architects, and lighting and farmhouse-interior designers.
After careful consideration, we decided to demolish our 1980s-era office facility. We also elected to remodel the split-face stone farmhouse and adjacent barn on the property. The combination of new construction, historic preservation, and landscape restoration provided an unusual mix of challenges. We knew if we could meet each appropriately, we would be able to showcase many methods of sustainable design.
Energy
High-performance, energy-efficient aspects of green construction often can be achieved with low-tech solutions. Kresge’s headquarters is a case in point. The two most energy-efficient features are the building’s orientation and the use of the Earth’s natural insulation capabilities.
The new building is oriented with the longest sections facing north and south. These facades are constructed primarily of glass. As a result, every office has natural light and a view of the outdoors. This orientation, coupled with the use of glass, reduces our reliance on artificial light. During the winter, when the sun is low in the sky, light and warmth
enter the building from overhanging sunshades on the south sides. When the summer sun is high in the sky, the sunshades block hot, direct rays.
Our second low-tech method called for embedding a large portion of the new building underground, utilizing the Earth as natural insulation. This reduced both the heating and cooling requirements for the facility.
The headquarters employs a state-of-the-art geothermal system to heat and cool the offices, meeting rooms, and common areas. We have 40 geothermal wells, sunken 400 feet into the ground below the parking area. At that depth, the Earth maintains a constant temperature of 55 degrees as does the water in the wells. Heating and cooling water from a constant temperature is more efficient than having to adjust the system to accommodate extreme fluctuations in temperature.
The wells convey water to three pumps, which in the winter heat the water and pump it into the building to warm our offices. In the summer, the pumps cool the water, which in turn cools the air. This investment in geothermal technology has increased our energy efficiency and lowered our operating costs. The building also is super-insulated, which maximizes the efficiency of the energy systems.
At the end of the building process, the new headquarters underwent a commissioning, or “road testing,” of its systems. During this year-long, full-cycle evaluation by an outside consulting company, systems-performance issues were identified, addressed, and fine-tuned.
Recycled materials
The new portion of the Kresge headquarters incorporates 27% recycled materials, with 76% of the building materials procured within 500 miles of the site. This reduced transportation costs and fuel usage.
Our decision to embed a significant portion of the building in the ground required that we create retaining walls on the site. Our architect suggested gabion walls, which are wire, fence-shaped baskets filled with recycled concrete from the project site and elsewhere. 
This functional solution reduced the amount of waste sent to the landfill and provided a distinctive exterior design feature.
Inside the building, the cores of furniture, doors, and millwork are made of rapidly renewable wheat board. All of this wood, as well as the flooring, is veneered in Forest Stewardship Council-certified, sustainably harvested wood. The linoleum flooring also was selected because it was made of rapidly renewable materials. Milk paint, which contains natural rather than chemical ingredients, was used on the walls.
Water
To reduce our demand on the community’s drinking water, 72% of the headquarters site is covered with native plants that require little maintenance. 
All water needed for landscaping is obtained through direct rainfall or rain water collected by a cistern. Inside the building, dual-flush toilets and a waterless urinal minimize our use of potable water.
We manage our stormwater on site, further minimizing our demand on community resources. Excess rain water is diverted into a system of shallow, vegetation-filled channels, or bioswales, and two constructed wetlands that naturally filter impurities, especially any harmful automotive chemicals from our parking lot that might seep into the ground.
The Environmental and Economic Advantages of Building Green
What does the practice of building green really mean? On one level, it involves designing facilities that make a minimal draw on nonrenewable resources. On another level, it creates a high-performance facility that operates with maximum efficiency.
The U.S. Green Building Council reports that buildings of all types in the United States use 65% of the nation’s electricity and 12% of its water. Buildings also are responsible for nearly 39% of carbon-dioxide emissions and 30% of landfill waste.
According to the Council, a green building that has been carefully designed can cut its energy consumption by 30%, its water usage by 50%, and its carbon emissions by 40%. 
In addition, a green building may restore natural, historical, or cultural features to a site that was disturbed or altered by past land use.
Building a green facility also demonstrates an organization’s commitment to environmental stewardship while providing occupants with a safe, nontoxic, natural environment. Green buildings guard against “sick-building syndrome” by ensuring there is fresh air to breathe, natural lighting, and reduced emission of gases from carpeting, paint, and other finishes.
Photography by Eugen Safta, The Kresge Foundation