Steelcase Wood Furniture Manufacturing Plant

The Steelcase Wood Furniture Manufacturing Facility is located on sixty-two acres in Gaines Township, Michigan. The building itself is 600,000 square feet and is the production home to a variety of wood office furniture products including work surfaces, systems panels and seating. The facility opened in October 2001 with silver LEED certification. It is the first manufacturing plant in the world to receive LEED certification. Seven hundred people can comfortably work in this facility that features access to natural lighting, water and energy efficiencies and thirty open acres of prairie grass, wooded areas and ponds. Additionally, employees are rewarded for their own sustainable transportation methods with dedicated parking spaces for hybrid vehicles and carpoolers.

 

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Project Name:
Steelcase Wood Furniture Manufacturing Plant

Owner:
Steelcase Inc.

Design Team:
Architect - URS Corporation
Contractor - Owen Ames Kimball Company


 Information:

Sustainable Sites
  • Planted over 958 trees to shade over 30% of impervious surfaces
  • Exceeds local zoning's open space requirements by 750%
  • Topsoil was reused and native trees and plants added
  • Bicycle lock-up areas and shower facilities provided;
    electric refueling stations within parking areas
Water Efficiency
  • Low flow fixtures use 34% less water
  • Roof water is collected in detention ponds that serve as a "natural"
    grit separation and provide 100% of all landscaping irrigation needs
Energy and Atmosphere
  • Meets California's Title 24 lighting requirements
  • 88.3% of waste heat recovered to reduce heating costs
Materials and Resources
  • Recycled structural steel produced locally
  • Extensive recycling program and corresponding equipment maintain
    a recycling rate of 75% or more
Indoor Environmental Quality
  • Johnson Controls Building Automation System monitors and
    records air quality

Mission: To transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, in a way that improves the quality of life in West Michigan.