At a time when car manufacturers are still working on creating environmentally friendly cars, one particular car dealership has taken green to a new level. The LaFontaine Buick Pontiac GMC Cadillac dealership in Highland, Mich., is among the first LEED Gold certified auto dealerships in the country. Completed in July 2008,the 63,000-square-foot
(5,853-m2) dealership received its Gold certification in February.
Studio Design-ST, Westland, Mich., was commissioned by the LaFontaine Auto Group to design the new space. A desire to make the new building more energy efficient was chief among the owners’ concerns. Planning for the facility began in 2000, but it wasn’t until 2005 that the dealership fully committed to going green. A
$600,000 geothermal heating and cooling system from Hardin Geotechnologies Inc., Indianapolis, helped drop annual operating costs by more than 50 percent. Wasco Skylight Products Inc., Sanford, Maine, supplied 85 double-dome insulated skylights to bathe the sales floor in natural light enhanced by ambient lighting when needed. The car wash recycles 85 percent of the water it uses, and the building has a white roof with a rainwater collection system. The dealership’s interior steel structure is built with 70 percent recycled material.
Studio Design-ST worked closely with Highland County’s planning commission and the General Motors’ BPG Identity Program design staff to develop a concept that embraced both GMC’s dealer guidelines and county codes. While the dealership is set on 24 acres (10 hectares), local regulations confined the building’s footprint to 10 acres (4 hectares). Planning commission restrictions defined the width and depth of the dealership, resulting in what appears to be three distinctly different buildings, each defined by brand standards.
LaFontaine Buick is one of the first GM dealers in the country to follow BPG’s new facility image program in which designers use scale with a combination of panels set on the horizontal and vertical, as well as color, to define a bold new look for the automaker.
“The BPG facility image is set by GM corporate design standards, and in most cases it is the responsibility of the architect to use and incorporate what they feel is the best material for the specific facility,” said Stanley Tkacz, AIA, IIDA, principal of Studio Design-ST. “Over the last 33 years of designing and creating automotive dealerships, our studio has taken the steps to use metal panels in a vast majority of our designs, providing our clients with a fast and secure exterior building envelope of lasting quality appearance and low maintenance elements.”
Reynobond Aluminum Composite Material and Reynobond Brush ACM from Alcoa Architectural Products, Eastman, Ga., clad the focal point of the building, the entrance to the Buick Pontiac sales floor. Tapered panels of Reynobond Brushed ACM edged in contrasting panels of Reynobond ACM in BPG High Gloss Black flank the entrance portal, while a curved eyebrow softens the look, inviting customers inside.
Nashville, Tenn.-based John W. McDougall Inc. fabricated the steel-framed entry portal from 90 percent recycled steel. “The completed portal was shipped to Highland in three pieces, ready to be installed on-site,” said George Holland, project manager for McDougall.
McDougall fabricated and installed the Reynobond material, including 15,025 square feet (1,396 m2) of 0.16-inch (4-mm) Reynobond Brushed ACM PE core with a clear-coat finish for the entry portal and 27,000 square feet (2,508 m2) of 0.12-inch (3- mm) Reynobond ACM in High Gloss Black PE core with a four-polymer high-gloss finish for the interior and exterior façades and soffits.
Plans for the design of the second-floor balcony wall overlooking the showroom floor were modified to create a spectacular radius wall faced with 11,000 square feet (1,022 m2) of 0.16-inch Reynobond ACM PE core in Pewter with a Kynar finish. McDougall installed the exterior Reynobond ACM panels with Alcoa’s caulked-joint (200) system and the interior accent wall was installed using a rainscreen system.
“ACM is specified for the majority of my projects,” Tkacz said. “It’s such a versatile material, and the possibilities are endless. I love working with it.”
Additional sustainable features at the dealership include low-VOC finishes, highly energy efficient systems, hydraulic vehicle lifts powered by vegetable oil, a rainwater collection system that includes a windmill-powered water pump to irrigate the landscaping and recycled concrete.
“I’ve been applying sustainable principles to my designs for years,” Tkacz continued, “particularly the ASHRAE 90 codes defining proper insulation standards. The dealership’s commitment to pursuing LEED certification is what makes this project so unique. Going green added about $2 million to the final cost of the project. It’s estimated that the new system will provide an energy savings of up to 54 percent a year, recouping their initial investment in the geothermal system within about five years.”
The eco-friendly, state-of-the-art dealership serves coffee in cups made from corn products at the café; the boutique sells logo shirts made from organic cotton; and prime parking spots are reserved for employees who carpool to work. The customer lounge includes a hair and nail salon for customers and employees, in addition to a children’s recreation area complete with an Xbox 360 video game system.
Bloom General Contracting Inc., Redford, Mich., was the general contractor, and Newman Consulting Group LLC, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., was the LEED certification specialist.
Alcoa Architectural Products
Wasco Skylight Products Inc.
*Updated: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated LaFontaine Buick Pontiac GMC Cadillac was the first LEED Gold certified automotive dealership in the U.S.
