The Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. Lutsen, headquarters building is the county’s first U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification. Left: Arrowhead Manager Don Stead and Assistant Manager Jeanne Muntean show off the award that just arrived at the cooperative.
Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI) held an open house to show off its newly remodeled and expanded Lutsen headquarters building in June 2008. When the $2.5 million project was complete, the electric cooperative thought it was days or weeks away from obtaining certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. However, that was not the case—the cooperative finally found out on May 17, 2010 that it had been awarded LEED Gold Certification. The honor, AECI Assistant Manager Jeanne Muntean said, is the first obtained in Cook County.
AECI Manager Don Stead said, “When we started we were after the LEED Gold. We were certain we would get the Silver rating and hopeful we would get Gold. So it was nice to finally get notice. We are happy and proud about this designation.”
It is not an easy undertaking to achieve a LEED Gold rating. The Green Building Council must confirm that the building’s design and construction reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants.
Visitors can easily see some of the touches that make the building an energy and environmental design leader—solar panels, large windows that let in lots of natural light, retention of the tongue and groove paneling from the old office space, and flooring of attractive recycled materials. There is also an interesting mechanical room, often hidden away, but available for view for members considering the use of geothermal heat pumps and/or solar heat. But the Green Council must also make sure that the building is using those systems and that green building techniques such as fly ash as a cement substitute and use of reclaimed Douglas fir had been employed.
And finally, there is the education piece, which takes place on a day-to-day basis. Asked what it is like to be working in a LEED Gold certified building, Manager Stead replied, “Interestingly enough it is very similar to being in any other building. The difference is that the Gold Certification provides the assurance that the building is performing in a certain manner—that we are giving our employees a better, safer, cleaner working environment.”
“One of our goals was to also provide a showcase for members and local builders. The building doesn’t look or feel all that different—it’s not ‘weird.’ Anyone can stop by and look at the materials used and see the heating systems,” said Stead.
The addition and remodeling of the Arrowhead headquarter facility consisted of the remodeling of the original building to better serve its original function as a warehouse space along with an addition to serve the office and support functions of the cooperative’s operations. Over 75% of the original building structure remained intact.
Facilitating the design of the headquarters was architect Melissa Graftaas, AIA, ARA, LEED® AP, of Architecture Advantage, LLP in Duluth, MN. Thiswas the firm’s first LEED® project and is the first to be certified while they currently have another in the review process. The general contractor for the project was Johnson Wilson Constructors of Duluth, MN with main subcontractors Stout Mechanical of Duluth, MN and Belknap Electric of Superior, WI.
Working with Graftaas on the LEED Certification was Assistant Manger Muntean. “Jeanne worked really hard on this,” said Stead. “We are all really happy and proud to receive gold certification.”
Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. was formed in 1953 after purchasing the Lutsen Light & Power Company generating station. Arrowhead has a little over 4,000 accounts in Cook and part of Lake County. Arrowhead operates and maintains over 375 miles of overhead distribution line and 190 miles of underground distribution line.
Muntean said, “Our mission statement is, ‘Through the power of human connections, we will provide quality utility services in a reliable, cost-effective and environmentally safe manner.’ The LEED Gold certification helps us to fulfill part of that mission.”
Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc.’s
57th annual membership meeting
will be held Saturday, June 19 at
St. John’s Catholic Church with a
pancake breakfast for members at
8:30 a.m. and business meeting at
10:00 a.m.
To achieve
a LEED
Gold rating,
key areas of
design and
construction
that reduce
or eliminate
the negative
impact of
buildings
on the
environment
and occupants
were
addressed.
These key
areas include:
• Sustainable site planning that decreased storm water runoff by more than 25% • Safeguarding water and water efficiency by reducing potable water use by 53% through the use of dual-flush water closets,
ultra low-flow urinals, and ultra low-flow lavatories. • Energy efficiency and renewable energy includes a ground source heat pump, solar hot water heating system, and day lighting of almost 80% of the occupied spaces to reduce the need
for fluorescent lighting. All occupied spaces have sensors to turn off
the lights when not in use. • Conservation of materials and resources include the reuse of the existing building concrete shell, poured concrete walls with the use of fly ash instead of Portland cement, reclaimed tongue and groove paneling from the old building, installation of recycled glass countertops, reclaimed Douglas Fir for trim and the ceiling in the
main lobby, cork flooring, recycled plastic carpeting, and recycled
rubber flooring. • Indoor Air Quality that is increased by more than 30% from preconstruction and the use of low-emitting materials in adhesives,
paints and sealants used during construction. • Innovation in Design includes a green housekeeping program and a member outreach program.
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