Completion Date: December 2003
Owners: Bill Karges and Jim Faulconbridge
Architect: Pope Associates, Inc.
Construction: McGough Construction Company
Building Size: 34,000 square feet
Practical Midwesterners are probably especially pleased when
an empty building is put to good use with a fresh new stamp on the space. And
that’s exactly what happened when the Karges-Faulconbridge, Inc., headquarters
moved into an old Jubilee grocery store in Roseville.
The engineering firm wanted a new office and testing facility that could operate cheaply and according to green principles. The company registered for the LEED pilot program for renovating existing buildings. Having an existing structure in place eased the pain of winter construction and caused an up-front cost savings of $40 per square foot versus building new.
The project included breaking through exterior walls and adding rooftop monitors and windows for perimeter offices. An open interior floor plan lets the sun shine in, so all employees can benefit. With the use of dimmers, lighting becomes direct or indirect automatically, depending on time of day and intensity of available natural light. The company saves energy, and employees feel that the company cares for their comfort.
The demolition created almost 120 tons of waste, but
Karges-Faulconbridge used nearly 800 tons of recycled building materials—mostly
asphalt. The project specified recycled steel to make up the building’s
skeleton. Other recycled materials were used for acoustical ceilings and sound
panels, ceramic tile, and carpeting. Whenever possible, builders used local and
regional materials.
Building partners took care to treat water as a valuable
commodity. Faucets and toilets operate by sensor to reduce water use. Waterless
urinals save 21,000 gallons of water per year. Rain gardens filter sediment from
runoff, slowly releasing purified water into storm drains.
Indeed, as much care was shown on the building’s exterior as its interior. Karges-Faulconbridge replaced much of the parking lot with natural prairie grasses, wildflowers, and a rain garden, increasing green space on the 3.6-acre lot by 54 percent.
Karges-Faulconbridge also designed, and McGough built, a closed-loop geothermal well field to heat and cool the building. The system, which can simultaneously heat and cool different areas of the building, is 300- to 400-percent energy efficient. The new headquarters exceed Minnesota Energy Code requirements for energy efficiency by 65 percent.
Radiant ceiling panels heat the bathrooms; heated water circulates through the panels to condition the space. Because they cover a large surface area, the panels are more efficient for use in large buildings.
Infrared heating used in the high bay window areas warms the entire building with what is called displacement ventilation. Air that is only slightly cooler than the desired room temperature is introduced at floor level. Warm air is then naturally displaced by the cooler air, creating a zone of fresh air throughout.
Karges-Faulconbridge chose not to incorporate some LEED components, such as a system to collect rainwater for reuse in bathrooms and irrigation systems, and a green roof, because they were deemed too costly.
The project cost a total of $4 million. Annually, Karges-Faulconbridge saves $25,000 in energy over its previous headquarters and earns a return on investment of 17 percent. If things go as planned, the building will have paid itself back for its construction by 2010.
On November 2, 2004, the building received LEED-Existing Building gold certification, the first gold-certified building in Minnesota.
