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News Release from: Gensler | Subject: Detroit Lions new training facility
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 29 August 2002
Detroit Lions new training facility
Detroit Lions have relocated from Pontiac, Michigan to a new training facility in Allen Park, designed by Gensler, that combines the latest in design technology with environmental sensitivity.
The Detroit Lions have relocated from Pontiac, Michigan to a new training facility in Allen Park that combines the latest in design technology with environmental sensitivity Designed by Gensler Architecture, Design and Planning Worldwide, the 225,000ft facility will also serve as the Lions headquarters and anticipates the August 2002 opening of nearby Ford Field, the downtown Detroit stadium where the team will play its home games
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 28 Jul 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Ford Motor Land Development Corporation is Developer/Owner of the project, Gensler is the Design Architect for both the base building and interiors, SmithGroup is Architect of Record, and JM Olson is Construction Manager.
The Detroit Lions began their move to the facility in April 2002.
"This is an incredible training center that will benefit our entire organization-from players, to staff, to owners, as well as the media who cover our team," said Bill Keenist, Senior Vice President of Administration for the Detroit Lions.
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"We are particularly proud of the sustainable design elements and strategies implemented in the design and construction".
"In a number of ways we've established a new benchmark for NFL facilities." From sheer size to personnel accommodation, the 22.7-acre complex is unparalleled among NFL organizations.
The 95,000-sf indoor practice field, the nation's largest, boasts a 110-foot ceiling - the league standard ranges between 65 and 70 feet - allowing for unobstructed indoor punting practice.
A striking 480 foot-long by 15 foot-wide two-story daylight-flooded corridor connects the indoor field to the office and training functions.
Adjoining the indoor space, two full-sized, outdoor practice fields rotate to the demands of team practice drills.
Other standout amenities addressing the players' off-field needs are:.
* A spacious two-story weight room training room with the latest equipment and floor-to-ceiling windows.
* An expanded locker room, which features maple lockers, doubles the former Silverdome space and unites the offense and the defense.
* Meeting rooms for each position, an auditorium for team gatherings, and seats designed to accommodate the dimensions of NFL players.
* A full-service kitchen and cafeteria, as well as lounges with TV, video games, music, and Internet connections for access to correspondence courses.
The innovative facility not only promotes the efficient movement of players and personnel and their activities, but also the space is laid out to reinforce a sense of team unity.
"Everything is configured with the life of the player in mind," said Bill Hartman, Gensler-Detroit's managing director.
"He can easily move from the locker room to the treatment center to the field, meeting rooms, or to the lounge".
"The goal was to provide a campus-like environment that fosters hard work as well as a place for relaxation and camaraderie." The building also serves as the team's corporate headquarters, accommodating the Chairman's Suite, executive/administrative offices, classrooms, lounges, coaches' offices, draft and conference rooms, and a broadcast studio.
Incorporating sustainable design elements into the building complex figured prominently in the project design.
From the building entrance's bamboo flooring-which represents a rapidly renewable resource-to floor-to-ceiling windows, motion-sensor lights, recycled rubber flooring, and low VOC carpet and paint, the facility design and construction conserves energy while minimizing the use of natural resources.
The training field even utilizes synthetic turf that is partly composed of recycled tires.
Besides using existing trees as natural screens around the structure, the LEED certified building is situated to intrude as little as possible on the natural landscape.
The facility sits on a site that contains wetlands and vegetation preserved during the building's construction".
"In designing the new Detroit Lions Training Facility, we placed a major focus on obtaining LEED certification," said Roger Gaudette, manager of engineering and construction for Ford Motor Land Development Corporation".
"This effort demonstrates a commitment to sustainability on the part of both the Lions organization and Ford Motor Land Development Corporation".
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating Systemandocirc;, a priority program of the U.S.Green Building Council, evaluates the environmental performance of a structure from a whole building perspective.
Different levels of sustainable building certification are awarded based on total credits earned for satisfying a variety of criteria.
The facility's certification will be awarded this summer.
SmithGroup ranks as the nation's sixth largest architecture, engineering and planning firm (Building Design and Construction, July 2001) and employs 1,000.
Founded in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2003, making it the oldest continuously operating architectural and engineering firm in the United States.
It is composed of client industry-focused Solution Groups serving the healthcare, learning, workplace and research sectors.
SmithGroup has offices in Detroit, MI; Washington D.C.; Chicago, IL; Phoenix, AZ; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Ann Arbor, MI; and Madison, WI.
Among the firm's numerous projects is the award-winning headquarters building for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis, MD, that is widely recognized as the "greenest" office building in the United States and winner of the prestigious Business Week Architectural Record Award.
JM Olson Corporation (www.jmolson.com) provides general contracting, construction management, and design/build services for over $250 million worth of commercial, institutional, industrial, government and automotive projects annually.
John M Olson, founder and chairman, started the company in 1970 as a local builder, but his commitment to excellence combined with an ability to meet client needs quickly propelled the firm into the commercial arena.
JM Olson Corporation is South East Michigan's fourth largest contractor, recognized as a premier contractor, both locally and regionally, with a staff of more than 95 professionals having expertise in construction, architecture, civil, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering.
JM Olson Corporation is the only company to receive the Gold World Excellence Award three consecutive years.
The award recognizes the company for superior performance in quality, cost and delivery.
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