ANODIZING: Saginaw Valley State University building meets LEED certification

The recently remodeled Saginaw Valley State University's Pioneer Hall – featuring a low-maintenance aluminum anodize finish ‑ continues to draw praise as it is the first project in the northeastern and mid-Michigan areas to earn Silver certification under the LEED® Green Building Rating System.

Originally built in 1977, Pioneer Hall houses SVSU's science, engineering and technology colleges. At less than 46,000 square feet, the building was badly in need of additional space to accommodate a growing student body. In late 2005, SVSU officials made the decision to expand and renovate the building.

The $16 million project began in 2006 and was completed the following year. Pioneer Hall's 30,000-square -foot addition melded state-of-the-art laboratories, offices and gathering spaces into the building's existing footprint. The renovation included upgrading materials in both of the building's two floors and redesigning the layout of the teaching, learning and administrative spaces to take advantage of the natural light provided by the window and curtainwall systems.

Glazing contractor Calvin & Co, Inc. installed Tubelite's 400 Series curtainwall. Designed for low- and mid-rise applications, the curtainwall's aluminum framing is manufactured using EcoLuminum, a high recycled-content aluminum billet composition featuring environmentally-friendly finishes. The system's recycled content, high-performance glass for optimized energy performance and thermal comfort, regionally manufactured materials, daylight and views, and low-maintenance, clear anodize finish all contributed toward the building's sustainability goals and LEED Silver certification.

"It [LEED] is definitely the way construction is going,” Michael Pazdro, SVSU's project manager, told the Saginaw News. “It means we're all thinking about the environment in the construction process.”