Although it’s typical to go onsite and locate and measure holes and then patch them, it just wasn’t feasible for the headquarters. A scan was completed on the building’s interior to identify all the openings and figure out the best way to address them. Some holes could be patched; others required more significant structural modifications. “Digital scans are being used more in renovation projects, especially ones that are very complex interior renovations,” Ash says. The scans were fed directly into SmithGroupJJR’s BIM model, so the team could reference them as they were modeling the renovation.
Punched-in windows bring natural light into office floors. Office spaces are designed on the interior of the floor plate while cubicles line the exterior, ensuring more workers can bask in natural light.
In addition, the team reused as much of the existing mechanical and electrical systems as possible. The existing building was served by a myriad of dual-duct and VAV systems, in which a majority of the air distribution was replaced to accommodate zoning of the new floor plans. Custom, built-up air-handling units located in the penthouse were original to the building and extensively reconditioned with new controls, steam and chilled water coils, dampers, fan motors with variable speed drives and various casing improvements. The facility’s outdated steam absorption chillers were removed and replaced with highly energy-efficient modular chillers, which quadruple the existing system’s coefficient of performance and provide better load-matching capability. Existing cooling towers were reconditioned and fitted with variable speed drives, reducing power consumption during part load conditions. Localized IT spaces requiring 24/7 cooling are served by state-of-the-art variable refrigerant flow systems, which exhibit high efficiency and excellent load-matching capability.
The headquarters building, which currently is in the process of being certified by the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council, is seeking a LEED Silver rating.
Reinvention
According to city officials, the $60 million renovation project was paid for by bonds. The project was completed on schedule and within budget. “It was a collective, very intensive team effort to stay on track with the schedule,” Ash says. “It was very important to get the building opened and move people out of their original buildings and outdated facilities.”
The official ribbon cutting occurred in June 2013 and employees began moving in shortly thereafter. Although there was some skepticism during design stages—particularly about departments going from enclosed workspaces to more open, interactive and collaborative spaces—in the end, the reaction to the building has been excellent. “The feedback from the public-safety team members and the community at large has been very positive. After everyone saw how the inside works—how accessible, collaborative and open it is—several other city departments were interested in getting into the building or having their own spaces updated similarly,” Ash notes.
Ash is rewarded by the collective effort to take a piece of downtown that had been sitting dormant for years and reinvigorating it as an important part of the city. “I think the architecture worked out quite well, but programmatically it’s a vital piece of city infrastructure on an important piece of land that’s very visible and very open to the public,” he says. “That sends a message about the city and the changing and maturing nature of the public-safety programs themselves. The fact that you can take those programs that have themselves struggled a bit over the past decade or so and get them to reinvent themselves as a model for public safety for the rest of the country is a pretty exciting result.”
Retrofit Team
Architect, engineer, landscape design: SmithGroupJJR, Detroit
Contractor: White Turner Construction (a collaboration of White Construction and Turner Construction Co.), Detroit