Topic: Cleveland: A.J. Celebrezze Federal Building Renovation

[heightsfan]

I like this project!  This will be an interesting change to both the skyline and the E.9th St corridor. 

I know it's a federal building... but I wonder what this thing would look like during the night if it was lit up after the renovation?  The possibilities...

I was wondering the same thing.  As I recall, one of the early concept photos in the PD showed the building at night with some kind of rotating or multi-colored lighting scheme.  Not sure what happened to that.

[clvlndr]

I like it.  The Celebrezze is not ugly, but out of date.  It was beautiful and state-of-the art when built, but the stainless steel  frame often seems rusty and dull these days and the upgrade will perk it up... at least, if the rendering is true to form.

[ClevelandOhio]

Check out the story in the Chicago Tribune

Has an additional rendering of how the skin works at the bottom

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/01/a-team-of-chicago-architects-on-thursday-unveiled-a-design-that-will-wrap-a-new-skin-of-metal-fins-and-high-strength-laminate.html

[Niko]

Looks cool, but seems like a waste to me.  $121 million for $700k a year in energy savings + better bomb protection?  Is there no cheaper option to increase the safety of the building?

[willyboy]

Looks cool, but seems like a waste to me.  $121 million for $700k a year in energy savings + better bomb protection?  Is there no cheaper option to increase the safety of the building?

What do you mean....  It will pay for itself in what...  173 years!

[gottaplan]

That is insane.  $121 million is a joke to retrofit that building.  Entire Flats East Bank project is going to cost $300 million to build hotel office & parking structure...  For $20 million they could replace all the windows & HVAC systems with brand new high efficiency.  And then spend another $10 million to make the building more bomb resistant, however they think that is going to work.  $700k a year in energy savings is also outrageous.  Even if this results in a 50% energy savings, which it won't, does that mean they are spending $1.5 million a year to heat & cool that space?  No freakin way.

Seriously, what a waste of money.  Think how many other excellent more deserving projects could have been done that provide a real benefit to residents, like public transit, more parks & maintenance.  Sickening.

[Scav]

gottaplan.. detailed earlier in the news was the fact that the building could not be retrofitted normally. replacing windows&hvac was not an option, because of the way the windows were detailed and constructed. 121 million is not cheap, but remember construction will happen while people are still inside. I am sure that has a lot to do with the cost.

[ClevelandOhio]

Isn't this all money from the federal government? Id rather have it spent here then somewhere else, like the 3C project.

[KJP]

The 3C is somewhere else? Wasn't one of the C's Cleveland? It's an irrelevant issue because the 3C funding was restricted by law to passenger rail.

Moving on....

It's federal money to pay for a federally owned building. There's no opportunity for cost sharing here.

[StrapHanger]

^I think he means the 3C money is now somewhere else.

[Niko]

Isn't this all money from the federal government? Id rather have it spent here then somewhere else, like the 3C project.

True, but IMO the benefit of 3C had a chance of outweighing the cost a little sooner than 173 years. 

[ClevelandOhio]

^I think he means the 3C money is now somewhere else.

Correct

[ink]

From the Chicago Tribune:

Shrink-wrapping the skyline: Chicago architects unveil design for energy-saving 'double wall' at Cleveland federal building

Share |  With help from Chicago architects, federal officials on Thursday unveiled an innovative design that leave the exterior of Cleveland's aging federal building in place and wrap a new metal and glass skin around it. This type of design, known as a "double wall," is expected to cut energy costs and give the stolid steel-and-glass building a fresh skyline identity, making its appearance change constantly in the light.

The $121 million plan (left), which was made public at a Cleveland news conference, will be funded by the controversial federal stimulus program. It was prepared by Interactive Design Eight Architects, which worked under Italian architect Renzo Piano on the Art Institute of Chicago's Modern Wing. It will be the most extensive use of double wall technology in a U.S. federal building, though not the first.

Renovation work already has begun on the 16-story Peter W. Rodino Federal Building in Newark, N.J. It's laying the groundwork for that building to be "shrink-wrapped," as the plan's chief architect, Richard Dattner, puts it, in a new metal and glass skin. As at the Cleveland building, the two walls in Newark will be separated by a cavity of air, about three feet wide.

Such double walls filter out harsh sunlight and create an insulating layer of air that moderates climatic extremes and lowers energy costs. Office buildings in Europe have used double walls for more than a decade, but the technology remains unusual in the U.S.

 In Cleveland, it will now be applied to the A.J. Celebrezze Federal Building (left), a 32-story structure completed in 1967 and located a short walk from I.M. Pei's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum along Lake Erie. Bob Peck, commissioner of public buildings at the General Services Administration (GSA), which operates federal buildings, approved the design last week.



http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/01/a-team-of-chicago-architects-on-thursday-unveiled-a-design-that-will-wrap-a-new-skin-of-metal-fins-and-high-strength-laminate.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Ftheskyline+%28ChicagoTribune+-+Cityscapes%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail

[Whipjacka]

i like that

[KJP]

It would be cool if that featureless band around the top of the building could be illuminated as with the Newark federal building that's getting shrink-wrapped too (see below). The north end of the East 9th office corridor ought to have more nighttime illuminations -- it's a little dark over there especially compared to the towers around Public Square (or even the PNC building). One other one I was thinking of is that there ought to be colored neon lighting (green? as was done atop Crown Centre I in Independence?) erected in a gable shape atop Erieview Tower. Not only would it make the building stand out, but it would appear a few stories taller at night! 

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/.a/6a00d834518cc969e20147e208fcae970b-800wi

[Keith]

^It would be cool, but we all know that someone would complain about the government wasting money.

[327]

It would be cool if that featureless band around the top of the building could be illuminated as with the Newark federal building that's getting shrink-wrapped too (see below). The north end of the East 9th office corridor ought to have more nighttime illuminations -- it's a little dark over there especially compared to the towers around Public Square (or even the PNC building). One other one I was thinking of is that there ought to be colored neon lighting (green? as was done atop Crown Centre I in Independence?) erected in a gable shape atop Erieview Tower. Not only would it make the building stand out, but it would appear a few stories taller at night! 

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/.a/6a00d834518cc969e20147e208fcae970b-800wi

Great idea!  Someone recently mentioned that there aren't a lot of nighttime glamour shots of our skyline.  Hard to do when so little of it lights up. 

[KJP]

^It would be cool, but we all know that someone would complain about the government wasting money.

Who cares? They will complain about the warm spring sun being too bright.

[Niko]

^It would be cool, but we all know that someone would complain about the government wasting money.

Who cares? They will complain about the warm spring sun being too bright.

Really?  Part of the reason for doing this is energy efficiency.  Why not just have flames shooting out of the top at night?  That will get people's attention.

[yanni_gogolak]

Couple more articles about it:

Finally, it's design change you can believe in: Chicago firm's planned rehab of Cleveland federal building sets a sustainable example

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/01/architectural-change-you-can-believe-in-chicago-firms-planned-rehab-of-cleveland-federal-building-se.html

A makeover for Cleveland's federal building

Celebrezze skyscraper to get "glass curtain".
By Ken Robinson, Newsradio WTAM 1100

http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=8098822



and here's a similar project starting construction in Denver:

GSA begins modernization of Chávez Building
Denver Business Journal
Date: Thursday, January 27, 2011, 1:36pm MST

Read more: GSA begins modernization of Chávez Building | Denver Business Journal


http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2011/01/27/gsa-begins-modernization-of-chavez.html

[KJP]

Really?  Part of the reason for doing this is energy efficiency.  Why not just have flames shooting out of the top at night?  That will get people's attention.

WTF? ? ? ? How energy intensive is neon? LEDs?

[willyboy]

The other day somebody mentioned that they thought there was supposed to be some sort of lighting component, which I also remembered. 

I finally found this, but its nowhere to be found now..?

https://home.crainscleveland.com/celebreezefederalbldgfacade041010ab35124
By Stan Bollard
One of the most high-profile Cleveland area projects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act should be well underway by next year, but it will also transform the downtown Cleveland skyline.

The Recovery Act funded roof and facade replacement is scheduled to begin in spring 2011 but could start as early as this summer.  "Green" energy-saving elements of the project include increased water/energy conservation from the roof/facade improvements and modernization of various mechanical systems, including installation of a support pole for a wind turbine to be installed at a later date. The work is expected to be completed in 2015.

GSA completed a prospectus level renovation on the building in fall 2009 that included plaza renovation, installation of a new fire management system, and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. What most passersby will notice is the installation of a new glass facade containing photovoltaic LED lighting; this will enable GSA engineers to monitor HVAC system output as well as detect energy loss. The LED cells will register energy loss or transfer by a change in color; the cells will also be tested in certain windows and if successful, will be used for those not included in the original test.

[KJP]

Thanks. Interesting. I hope there is an exterior illumination of some kind.

[WestBLVD]

You know what excites me most about that rendering? Look to the middle left hand side of the building. Looks like Cleveland gains about 40-50 skyscrapers along the Euclid corridor! Not bad for $121 million!

[Hootenany]

Really?  Part of the reason for doing this is energy efficiency.  Why not just have flames shooting out of the top at night?  That will get people's attention.

WTF? ? ? ? How energy intensive is neon? LEDs?

Neon lights can consume up to 10 times the power of an equivalent LED.  If they're concerned about energy efficiency and still want some lighting element then LED would probably be the way to go.

[KJP]

It sounds like LEDs are what they're going with. But neon still uses less energy than flames shooting out of the top each night. 

[ClevelandOhio]

From an article earlier this year.

"Work on the project will begin next summer and continue through 2014."

Cant wait to see the finished product. Better take some pictures of the building before next summer!

[MissinOhio]

From an article earlier this year.

"Work on the project will begin next summer and continue through 2014."

Cant wait to see the finished product. Better take some pictures of the building before next summer!

I had asked about this building earlier, and did a little research and pinpointed the same sentence as you.  I noticed the article was from January if I remember correctly, and I didn't know if they meant construction was suppose to start next summer as in 2011 or summer of 2012.

[gottaplan]

Did this project ever go before the planning commission for review?

[Scav]

I thought most of the work was still preliminary, and that it was going to be in the design stages for a while. visible construction was going to take a few.

I am also extremely excited for the project, its really going to refresh the skyline a little bit.

[gottaplan]

^seriously?  This is a complete boondoggle.  Building an enclosure around an old inefficient building?   For what, bomb resistance?  it would be cheaper to tear it down & rebuild a new modern, efficient, bomb resistant building...

[musky]

^How so?

[Scav]

"Work on the project will begin next summer and continue through 2014. David Hood, regional commissioner of the GSA’s Public Buildings Service, said the project would cut $600,000 to $700,000 a year from the building’s $3.7 million heating and cooling bill. "

121 Million takes a long time to recoup from saving 6-700 thousand a year, but the better efficiency, addition of jobs, and renovation of a (soon to be considered imho) historic facade has big implications. Plus its paid for by the feds. Its tons cheaper than building a new, modern, efficient, bomb resistant building.. and its going to be a new, modern, efficient, bomb resistant building.

Im not seeing the "boondoggle"... Whats your opinion on it?

[Keith]

^seriously?  This is a complete boondoggle.  Building an enclosure around an old inefficient building?   For what, bomb resistance?  it would be cheaper to tear it down & rebuild a new modern, efficient, bomb resistant building...

Actually that was priced by GSA and was going to be slightly more expensive.

Admittedly though, a part of the reason for that was the cost of real estate and the estimate was done several years ago, before the real estate market downturn. In the years since, the building has undergone a lot of interior renovations. (Fire alarms, restrooms, lighting, asbestos removal from select areas, etc.) When you combine the cost of the interior renovations, the plaza around the building, and this exterior project with the reduced cost of real estate, it might not save the government much to do all the renovating, but as slow as GSA typically works, it's not worth changing strategy now. (In other words, by the time the contracts on the building could be cancelled and new real estate purchased, the real estate market would probably have improved to the point of cancelling out any savings.)

On top of that, after seeing the setbacks that are becoming typical of Defense Department buildings, I wouldn't want to see one built in Cleveland.

[gottaplan]

spin it however you please by factoring in "job creation" and "renovation of a soon to be historic" facade, but you said it yourself, $121 million takes a long time to pay back at a rate of $600,000 per year.  Wait till the real construction costs come in over $200 million. 

Look what we are getting for $270 million on Flats East Bank which includes infrastructure & parking...  this is a boondoggle.  If you want to love it for reinvestment, that's fine, but don't argue that it's money well spent.  I have a lot of experience doing building renovations and the glass could be replaced with triple-pane impact resistant glazing that would be 10x more cost effective...  anyhow, hope it's beautiful, creates a bazillion jobs, and lasts forever.