Page 200 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

176 GETTING STARTED—PREDESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

The Morris Arboretum is in a stream valley known as the Wissahickon. This valley
has a remarkable sense of place. We’ve been blessed with a lot of preserved open
space thus far. Also nearby, historically there have been quarries of Wissahickon
schist, which is a gray stone that has specks of mica that sparkle. There’s just a special
feeling to the valley in terms of the natural landforms, the architecture, the views, and
the vistas. We just wanted to make sure that whatever we were building was related
to that and respected the sense of place. But we didn’t just want to build buildings that
looked like 18th century buildings. We wanted something that was forward-looking
but at the same time respectful of the past.
As an arboretum, we are very committed to doing buildings that function also as
exhibits. For example, back in the mid-1980s, the Arboretum built a parking lot in the
middle of the arboretum. It was a controversial thing—like the line from the old Joni
Mitchell song: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” This time, we wanted
to do that but in the most beautiful and sustainable way. We created a parking lot that
not only serves as a functional parking lot but it also functions as an exhibit on how
to design parking lots that are environmentally friendly. Similarly, with this building,
we wanted to make sure that it reflected things that one can do to enhance sustain-
ability. Not only were we doing those things but, where possible, we wanted those
things to be visible and to interpret them to visitors. The building itself will function
as an exhibit on sustainability. That was something that we communicated from the
beginning to the architects. They weren’t just creating a building but they were creat-
ing an exhibit.

PLATINUM PROJECT PROFILE

William A. Kerr Foundation Office, St. Louis, Missouri
Originally built as a bathhouse in 1895, 21 O’Fallon Street housed an auto body
shop before the Kerr Foundation purchased it. The 4800-square-feet renovation
project cost $1.5 million. In addition to serving as the office space for the foun-
dation, the building welcomes local bicycle commuters by offering secure stor-
age, showers, and changing areas. Onsite power is supplied by a wind turbine
and photovoltaics, which supply 25 percent of the building’s annual energy
demand. An underfloor air distribution system ensures high indoor air quality,
comfort, and reduced energy use for ventilation. Low-flow fixtures and dual-flush
toilets reduce the building’s potable water demand. Rain barrels, bioswales, and
a green room contribute the management of stormwater. The project is also
designed to catalyze revitalization of the blocks around it, currently in a run-
down state.*

*Vertegy (August 13, 2007), “Vertegy Delivers St. Louis City’s First LEED Platinum Building,” http://www.
vertegyconsultants.com/news.cfm?id=9, Press release, accessed April 2008.