“White Turner was included early on in the process,” Ash states. “It wasn’t a design-build but we did peel off a couple of the components of the design and did a design assist with the subcontractors. This was for speed and to find the quickest, most economical solutions.” The collaboration included close working relationships with some of the mechanical subcontractors and the manufacturer of the new insulated metal panels (IMPs) that would be installed on the building’s exterior. The manufacturer created shop drawings as Ash and his team were developing the design.
Exterior
Although the structure was sound, many of the exterior envelope systems were beyond their warranties and useful lives, causing problems with water penetration. In fact, the original intent for the majority of the existing single-skin metal panels was to paint over them. “As we got into it, we discovered they were leaking terribly,” Ash says. “The seams were unsalvageable; the insulation was no longer there. The quantity of holes we found in the existing metal panels was far more than we expected and far exceeded the original plan to patch a few holes and refinish.”
In addition, the EIFS that had been installed to create a Native American motif for the temporary casino was no longer in good condition and had to be removed.
To create a highly efficient, well-insulated envelope, as well as a new identity for the building, Ash and his team chose IMPs for the more than 150,000 square feet of exterior wall surface. Not only did the team take cues from the grays and browns of the area’s surrounding buildings, but to help the structure stand out, blue-green IMPs were installed in a mosaic pattern of three variations, alluding to more than one team working inside the facility toward a common goal.
“There was an opportunity with as much area of façade that we had to work with to really make a statement for the downtown area and for the immediate neighborhood,” Ash says. “There was a conscious attempt to go a little bolder with the color and patterning of materials than we might otherwise have. We analyzed the existing buildings in a two- to three-block radius and discovered a range of beiges, browns and neutrals. It was clear to us, the Detroit Building Authority, steering committee and entire design team that there was room for color in this part of the city. We saw this as an opportunity to be expressive and make the building feel inviting to the public.”
Before installing the IMPs, the EIFS was removed and studs behind were reconfigured to receive the new metal panels. The original clay masonry and metal panels on the north and south sides of the building were clad over with IMPs.
Because the stakeholders wanted the headquarters to feel open and accessible to the public, the team brought in natural light by demolishing a 500-space parking deck—the smaller of two parking garages—on the building’s east side and creating a new lobby in that location. “We weren’t totally sure the small parking deck could be demolished—whether it was going to fit in the budget—until very late in the process,” Ash states. “We were developing parallel alternatives for the new lobby, one of which included trying to work around that existing parking deck.”
Not only does the lobby’s new glass front bring light into the facility, it also reflects Detroit’s skyline—a nod to the city the headquarters serves. “The new lobby is very glassy, very transparent, very light-filled, so as you’re entering the building your experience is one that’s illuminated, accessible and inviting,” Ash says.
Interior
The building’s two existing towers were ideal for locating the different departments inside the building. Size and orientation of the existing floor plates worked well for the integration of departments requested by the stakeholders.
However, as the team peeled off interior walls and cleaned, it discovered the concrete slabs on a couple of floors were full of holes. “Because they had so many computers for the IRS configuration and because the gaming floors had so many infrastructure requirements, particularly for the slot machines, the concrete slabs on a couple of the floors were riddled with holes,” Ash notes.