Downtown Detroit-based
Kraemer Design Group operates from a mantra of "do the right thing," and has incorporated green elements into their designs since the company's inception 14 years ago. As sustainability becomes more mainstream, green materials and willing clients have made it easier for the architecture firm to build green, and the world is taking notice.
Kraemer's design for NTH Consultants Northwood Corporate Center was selected as a Green Building of America award-winning project and will be featured in an upcoming edition of Real Estate & Construction Review - Midwest Green Success Stories. "This was a case of the client coming to us," says architectural designer Brian Rebain, who says that sustainable materials were used whenever possible in the project. "The furniture, fabrics, carpeting, even down to the adhesive and the sealants being used." Low-VOC paint was employed, old-fashioned linoleum stepped in for vinyl flooring and recycled materials were used whenever possible.
The Construction Association of Michigan also honored a project that Kraemer was involved in: the renovation of Strategic Energy Solutions' offices in Berkley, which was given an honorable mention as a Green Project of the Year. The project was awarded LEED Gold certification, which Rebain says was achieved through a partnership between the architect and the client. "The geothermal (they installed) boosted up the LEED-qualifying nature of the project," he says.
As green and sustainable building becomes more and more the norm, Rebain says that the Kraemer staff will continue to push the envelope when it comes to technology and materials. "A lot of what we do is keeping abreast with what's new, what the newest products are, what the best products are," he says.
Source: Brian Rebain, Kraemer Design Group
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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