In 2007, Russell Chamberlain, owner of the Athens Real Estate Co. in Athens, Ohio, discovered that he was in possession of a desirable building spot. He already owned an existing retail/office plaza on a well-traveled arterial street connecting rural areas to Athens’ downtown core. Views from the front of the property featured a picturesque river valley, complete with a historic mill and waterfall, plus a backdrop of tree-covered hills.
“I had a moment of epiphany when I was on the roof of the building one day, and I saw how stunning the view was from the vantage of the second story,” Chamberlain said. “I knew right then I wanted to build something special there.”
Chamberlain quickly decided to pursue LEED certification for his new building. “I have a long history with and interest in sustainable building practices. I joined the [U.S. Green Building Council] when I first started practicing real estate, and I quickly realized that it was increasingly difficult to cut through the clutter of all the claims that were being made about being green. So I decided that we should try to give the new construction some teeth-hence, LEED certification.”
Pursuing the certification also made sense from a business perspective. While LEED certification is still a rarity in this part of the country; the fact that Athens is a college town means that a large segment of the population is tuned into the green movement. The Athens Real Estate office is expected to become the county’s first LEED-certified building.
Bringing in the Crowds
In addition to great views and accessibility, the site’s street front offers another advantage: It is south-facing. By elongating the 3,300-square-foot (307-m2) structure’s south elevation, the designers optimized passive solar design strategies. They also raised the western end of the main section to two-and-a-half stories and capped it with a long shed roof, creating a dramatic building mass. On the east side, a landscaped courtyard links the new construction to the existing plaza.
The sloped roof design also allowed for a soaring two-story interior public space, which has become a destination location for townspeople. “I knew from the beginning that I wanted to find a way to attract a larger group of people into our space-people (who) might not necessarily be in need of buying, selling or renting real estate,” Chamberlain said. To that end, a café offering locally grown fare is positioned just inside the front door, and a mezzanine level offers additional seating with dramatic views of the river and falls.
High-tech, but Homey
The designers used metal in ways that give the building a high-tech feel. Chamberlain said his company markets itself in a way that “underscores its commitment to staying abreast of technological advancements and developments. What better way to communicate that we are a hip, progressive and technologically savvy company than to build an office complex that communicates viscerally that same message?”
Architecturally, “the use of very traditional, residential features (that) evoke a sense of ‘home’ are common in the real estate business,” said Nicholas Bittner of Panich + Noel Architects, also based in Athens. “But we wanted to elicit that same feeling of comfort in more of a commercial space. Instead of using specific features, we used functions. For example, with all of the light streaming in from the windows, one can experience the comfort of sun on skin.” Nevertheless, balancing a high-tech aesthetic with one that fits the building’s rural location was also a consideration. “A more rustic look, accomplished by using exposed beams and timbers, contrasts with the use of corrugated metal and glass,” Bittner explained.
Dimensional Metals Inc., Reynoldsburg, Ohio, supplied its WP-72 panels to clad a large portion of the building’s exterior. The steel panels are a sustainable choice because, in addition to having some recycled content, they have a long life span and can be recycled later. Their neutral gray color (DynaClad Kynar 500 Weathered Zinc) makes the Athens Real Estate’s red logo and signage visually pop. Along the street-front elevation, expanses of the siding-installed horizontally in order to emphasize the lines of the building-alternate with long banks of windows, and are framed by an asymmetrical bracket of masonry. Aluminum brise soleil sunshades by Ohio Gratings Inc., Canton, Ohio, control solar gain while also tying into the building’s aesthetic; in addition to creating a machined look, the architects pointed out that “throughout the day, the shadows cast by these sunshades add another element of horizontality.”
See Clearly
Three different colors of glass were used in all of the window compositions: green, blue and clear. Each color has different solar characteristics, so by mixing and matching them, the architects were able to balance the solar heat gain index with LEED’s requirements that each room have views to the outside. Also influencing the coloration of the glass was the fact that the building is located so close to the river. “There is a high degree of light reflectance from the water, and too much clear glass would have led to too much interior heat gain,” Bittner said. “But that set of conditions gave us another opportunity to harmonize the building with its rural surroundings by pulling green and blue hues out of nature.”
Overhead
Because the notion of providing shelter is essential in real estate, rooflines were sculpted in such a way as to reinforce the imagery of shelter. The shed roof features deep overhangs, enhancing both its functional and iconic purpose. The overhangs cover an entrance and seating area outside the café, and also shade the office’s upper-story windows along the south elevation, making them part of the passive solar design strategy. In the courtyard, the main entrance is situated at a 45-degree angle in the”elbow” of the building, and the architects chose to create an asymmetrical roofline for its vestibule. Again, the use of exposed posts and beams are drawn from a regional vocabulary, suggesting “a primitive shelter shape,” Bittner said. By covering the entire roof with Lancaster, Pa.-based Fabral’s Grandrib 3 structural steel in Caribbean Blue, the designers enhanced its visual impact from a distance.
Locally sourced hardwood is featured throughout much of the interior, with metal accents contributing to the contemporary feel of the space. Along the mezzanine and stairways, 800 lineal feet
(244 m) of Plymouth, Mass.-based Atlantis Rail Systems’ stainless steel cable rail were installed, adding visual interest to the interior and increasing its sense of openness.
Hometown Pride
In this small town, where sustainability is a priority, the Athens Real Estate office has already become a landmark and a “community asset,” Chamberlain said. “The flow of people into and out of the space makes for a vibrancy that those of us working here really enjoy.”
Kristin Dispenza writes about architecture and design from Athens, Ohio. More information about Panich + Noel Architects, Athens, can be found at www.pnarch.com
Athens Real Estate, Athens, Ohio,
Architect: Panich + Noel Architects, Athens
General contractor: TH Lovdal & Co. Ltd., Athens,
Metal siding: Dimensional Metals Inc., Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Aluminum sunshades: Ohio Gratings Inc., Canton, Ohio
Metal roofing: Fabral Metal Wall and Roof Systems, Lancaster, Pa.
Cable rail: Atlantis Rail Systems, Plymouth, Mass.
