Bloomfield Hills, Mich., April 2, 2013 — Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School (Detroit Public Schools) received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council on March 27, 2013. TMP Architecture, Inc. of Bloomfield Hills was architect of record and primary LEED consultant for the project, with Jenkins Granger Alliance for DPS as the design-builder.
The result of a 2009 voter-approved Detroit Public Schools bond, the project was the first high school to be replaced as part of the district’s $500 million, 3-year capital improvement campaign.
Situated on a 34-acre site at 3200 East Lafayette Street in Detroit, the existing high school received a new auditorium in the 1980s and recently, the school’s football, baseball and track fields were upgraded. Open for class in fall 2011, the 2-story 245,412 square foot high school building was constructed on the existing site, taking advantage of its prime location and existing site amenities, with the existing auditorium incorporated into the new facility. Within the school, a tribute to Dr. King, the “Martin Luther King Jr. Center,” is used as a large group lecture venue and as an informal gathering space for students and visitors. Other features include a cyber cafe, a media center overlooking the MLK Center, a gymnasium with spectator seating for 1,200, an 8-lane competition pool and a community health center.
Sustainable design strategies that contributed to the school’s LEED Gold Certification included a ground source geothermal heat pump heating and cooling system that serves all four main academic areas of the school. All south-facing classroom windows feature sun shades to reduce solar gain and to increase energy efficiency of the building by reducing the cooling load. General glazed areas included window shading and the use of low-emissivity glass.
The decision to build the new facility on the urban site of the existing school – later to be demolished – afforded opportunities for community connectivity, accessibility to general services, and walking distance to adjacent residential neighborhoods and public transportation.
The design-build team strategy included utilizing as many regional materials as possible to aid in the reduction of pollution from the transport of materials. Low-VOC products were selected whenever possible. Energy-efficiency initiatives included controllability of lighting systems, while water conservation initiatives included the installation of low-flow plumbing fixtures.
The design-build team consisted of Jenkins Construction, Inc. and Granger Construction Company (Jenkins Granger Alliance for DPS), with TMP Architecture, Inc. as the Architect of Record and primary LEED consultant for the team. SDG Associates, LLC was the City of Detroit Consulting Architect and initial LEED co-consultant along with TMP. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering was provided by FES Group, LLC, a firm with substantial contributions to the team’s LEED process. Walbridge Joint Venture served as Program Manager.
TMP has offices in Bloomfield Hills and Portage, Michigan, producing a variety of projects for K-12 educational, college / university and municipal clients. The firm’s projects include a new LEED Gold Certified Math & Science Center in Jenks, Oklahoma and two LEED Silver Certified high schools in Michigan: Whitmore Lake High School, Whitmore Lake and Skyline High School, Ann Arbor. Some of the firm’s current work includes various projects for Troy Public Schools (MI), Ypsilanti Community Schools (MI) and Evanston-Skokie School District 65 in Evanston, Illinois.