Ford Environmental Science & Technology Building
Located 40.6 miles south of Michigan Tech’s main campus in Houghton and 10 miles from the shores of Lake Superior, Ford Center and Forest is an outdoor and environmental education center with full-service conference facilities and lodging.
Ford Center and Forest operates as a field station supporting research and natural resource education since 1954. Its staff includes a number of faculty from Michigan Tech, as well as academic and professional partners from throughout the country.
Adaptable Architecture
ZGF Architects worked together with developers Wexford Science + Technology and the University of Pittsburgh to transform this historic brick building into an environmental science & technology building. The adaptive reuse project will house cutting-edge research laboratories for researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and private industry tenants, consolidating academic research and collaborative partnership across campus.
Adaptability refers to the capacity of buildings to adapt in response to emerging needs or varying contextual conditions, prolonging their useful life while preserving the value for their users over time. This is often referred to as flexibility or extendibility [1,2].
Literature discussions on adaptability describe a variety of change scenarios, with most studies recognizing changes in operational and user needs, environmental conditions, and broader social and economic contexts as the leading motives for designing adaptable buildings. However, these definitions usually omit consideration of specific dimensions and types of change that correspond to these motives. These include, but are not limited to, change of use or function, changeable parts or components, space plan, layout, size or volume, and performance changes.
Flexibility in Space
Designed to be an industry anchor by the university, this corktown landmark is a multi-tenant showcase of high-tech and low-tech innovation. As a top notch research center in the making, the building is home to a plethora of academic and corporate entities, a slew of nifty technology and engineering labs and a smattering of state of the art office spaces. The building has a resounding knack for attracting a well-heeled clientele with its mix of amenities and perks. The eponymous company’s new office occupying just over a third of the available space is the building’s flagship, and boasts an innovative and flexible lease structure.
Sustainable Design
Sustainable design is a broad term that includes concepts like extending product lifespans, avoiding depletion of natural resources and designing products that can be repaired or reused. These principles stretch back more than a century.
Unlike green design, which focuses on individual sustainability goals, sustainable design takes into account the entire system in which a product is built and used. This can help companies maximize the value of their products over their entire life cycle.
When you make a commitment to sustainable design, it communicates that your company cares about the environment and values its people. It can also boost your brand image, especially as climate change becomes an increasingly hot topic in business and investment circles.
While many designers find the transition to sustainable design challenging, there are a number of ways that it can benefit their work. Some of these include lowering energy use, using recyclable materials and minimizing packaging. Additionally, there are a variety of government incentives that can be taken advantage of when choosing sustainable design practices for your business.
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