The Pittsburgh Glass Center, an energy-efficient, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified green building, was the subject of a presentation hosted by the Copper Country Community Arts Center Oct. 28 at the Jutila Center in Hancock. Click on photos for larger versions. (Glass Center photos courtesy Pittsburgh Glass Center. Reprinted with permission.)HANCOCK -- Copper Country Community Arts Center (CCCAC) members and other local residents interested in the Center's plans for green building renovation recently learned about the green renovation and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification of the Pittsburgh Glass Center, which could serve as a model and inspiration for the Hancock project.
Heather McElwee, assistant director, and Chris Clarke, facilities director for the Pittsburgh Glass Center, gave a presentation that included a video of their Center's facility and activities as well as a slide presentation of the step-by-step challenge of transforming an existing building in an inner-city neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA., into an energy-efficient facility prioritizing natural light and ventilation. The Pittsburgh Glass Center is a place where glass artists from all over the world can work, teach and exhibit their art. The two presenters, who spoke on Oct. 28 at the Jutila Center in Hancock, were both involved in the planning and construction of the Pittsburgh Glass Center.
A glass artist at work in one of the studios of the Pittsburgh Glass Center.After showing the video -- which gave an overview of the Pittsburgh Glass Center's work of creating, teaching and promoting glass art -- McElwee spoke about the history of the building and the community it now serves. Originally a car dealership in the 1940s and later a home for troubled children, the renovated building opened in 2001 after about 18 months of construction, she noted.
"It's a 16-17,000-square-foot facility, and it has programming for everyone from the beginner who's never touched glass before and walks in off the street in Pittsburgh to the internationally renowned artist who comes in and teaches classes," McElwee said.
Addressing supporters of the Copper Country Community Arts Center's green building renovation project at the Jutila Center in Hancock, Heather McElwee, Pittsburgh Glass Center assistant director, gives a Power Point slide presentation on the history of the Center and the community programs it offers. (Photos of presentation by Keweenaw Now)A few of the features that helped the Glass Center receive LEED certification included a heat recovery system that takes waste heat from a glass-blowing furnace to heat water in the building, recycled windows and other materials -- both from the original building and from industrial or construction sites where the materials otherwise would have been thrown away -- and extensive use of natural light and ventilation.
People walking by the front of the building actually see artists at work in one of the building's four studios. McElwee said having a studio rather than a gallery or retail space in the front of the building was important for what the planners wanted the public to see when they walked by.
"For us the core of the Glass Center's mission is about teaching classes. We're about being a studio," McElwee explained.
That educational aspect of the Glass Center caught the attention of Cynthia Coté, executive director of the Community Arts Center in Hancock.
"One thing that stands out in my mind is that they have their working studio in front of windows and people can view the artists at work -- from the sidewalk. That inspired us," Coté said. "What people see from our sidewalk is the great art (in the galleries), which makes them think that we're a shop rather than an active arts center."
Coté added she can see the CCCAC reorienting the entrance to the present building, but that is just one idea that will be considered by the design team for the Arts Center's green building project during the charrette, a series of planning meetings beginning Nov. 18.*
"It's hard to know just how it'll take shape," she said. "When we meet for the charrette, all those ideas will come together."
The Pittsburgh Glass Center offers intensive one-week classes in the summer -- 14 hours a day, Monday through Friday. Each summer about 200 students come to learn from artists who come from all over the world. During the school year classes are once a week for eight weeks. College students can take classes for college credit. The Glass Center also offers an activity called "Make it now," where anyone can walk in off the street and, for $25, can work with an artist and in 20 minutes make something out of glass.
Chris Clarke gave a detailed explanation of how the building was transformed from a "rough, raw space" to the present Center in order to meet the needs of glass art. Since glass making is an activity that eats up space, the designers decided right away to add an addition to the existing building, while trying to retain some of its historic features.
The original building in Pittsburgh, PA, before it was remodeled as the Pittsburgh Glass Center. McElvee noted they wanted to maintain the "soul" of the building by preserving some of its history even while changing it. An example of this was keeping the front of the building as it was.
Recycling materials meant very few items had to be bought brand new, saving money in construction.
"All the windows that were taken out were stored and then re-used in the studio spaces later on," Clarke noted. "With the tours, with school kids coming in, with events going on, we want people to see into the studio spaces so we try to keep them as open as possible."
The window spaces were made larger and openings were made in the roof to allow more natural light into the building. The windows in the studio spaces open and contribute to ventilation in the summer.
Chris Clarke, facilities director for the Pittsburgh Glass Center, shows slides of the step-by-step green building renovation of the Center during a presentation hosted by the Copper Country Community Arts Center Oct. 28 at the Jutila Center in Hancock.Two 2400-degree furnaces (that run 24-7), used for melting glass, heat up the space immensely, Clarke said. In addition, eight heating chambers of 2100 degrees each add to the heat in the building. A heat recovery system uses the waste heat to heat water that runs through the building and the floors.
Temperatures in the Glass Center's furnaces and heating chambers can reach 2100 to 2400 degrees. "Glass can be dangerous to breathe," Clarke added. "Ventilation is crucial."
A ventilation system that keeps the air moving through the building regulates the temperature and maintains a healthy work environment.
Clarke noted the renovation also included putting a new tie to the sewer system and redundant trap systems in the glass factory so waste material could be filtered properly and not put directly into the sewer.
In the Pittsburgh Glass Center, large windows admit natural light for work spaces, while a redundant trap system filters waste material before it goes into the sewer.Construction waste is also recycled. Used high school science tables are an example of the Center's use of recycled or donated items to avoid purchasing costly new equipment.
"We try to do everything we can to be as efficient as possible with our equipment," Clarke said.
Clarke noted the equipment in work spaces is built for adaptability. It can be changed in five minutes Everything is on wheels and on "quick connect," so the studio equipment can be moved around.
Equipment at work stations is open and adaptable. A lot of the mechanical space is exposed for easy access."We've made as many steps as we could to do the right thing from the start and not have to deal with fixing it later," he explained.
The Pittsburgh Glass Center at night: Recycled corrugated glass panels give the studio a special look: "Our studio glows a beautiful glow at night," Chris Clarke said. McElvee said the Glass Center's operating budget is $1 million -- 50 % from classes and workshops, 25-30% from foundations and the rest from individuals, corporate sponsorships, etc.
"Our annual utility bill is the same as your (the CCCAC's) annual operating budget," she noted.
According to Clarke, fund raising for the Glass Center started in 1999. By 2000 they had raised $3.6 million for the Glass Center, which was the first LEED-certified building in Pittsburgh.
"Pittsburgh has more green buildings than any other city in the U.S. right now," Clarke noted. "Our biggest goal, now that we are what we are, is to be a role model for other studios."
Heather McElvee and Chris Clarke answer questions from the audience after their slide presentations on the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Coté said she felt everyone in the audience was really excited by the presentation.
"They had a project that related to our own and it helped us envision some fresh ideas for the Arts Center," Coté noted.
Bonnie Loukus, CCCAC assistant director, echoed Coté's appreciation of the presentation.
"I enjoyed it, especially the visuals," Loukus said. "I think that really helps to inspire people so they can understand that a project like that is possible here, too, and we need everyone's support."
Both McElvee and Clarke said they thought the CCCAC had an advantage of a space that's already being used as an arts center and a core group of supporters.
Clarke noted that even after 10 years of the Pittsburgh Glass Center, they were just starting to build a community.
"The fact that you have this many people here in a room," Clarke said, "that's impressive."
The two presenters noted also the importance of designing the building for long-term efficiency, saving money and creating a practical, safe environment for future generations. Keeping this in mind in the planning process is more important than just getting wrapped up in earning a prescribed number of points for green building certification, they stressed.
"You really have to think out how it's going to impact the functionality in the long run (e.g., the maintenance factors)," Clarke explained.
To a question on how much the studios are used, McElvee said that was a struggle because many people who use them are doing it as a hobby after work hours. However, an affiliation with Carnegie Mellon University helps usage of the studio during daytime hours since they send 40 students a semester to earn college credit through classes in the Center. They are working to get more colleges involved, she added.
People in the audience were asked to fill out questionnaires with their suggestions, and some mentioned their ideas at the end of the presentation.
Nano Rose mentioned she liked the idea of classroom space being on the outer wall so people can see what's going on in classes, but also the idea of rolling components so things could be moved out of the way for gatherings (wine tastings,auctions, etc.) or performances on the first floor since the second floor space has poor acoustics.
"I think people really enjoy those," she said.
Bill Rose pointed out a need in the community for a suitable place where art is celebrated -- a place to entertain people in an arts atmosphere (he admitted Finlandia's Finnish American Heritage Center is somewhat like this).
"If you build it people will come," Bill Rose said.
Emily Newhouse, who participates in the international folk dancing held on the second floor of the CCCAC, said she hopes the new design will preserve the wood floor upstairs.
"We've been really appreciative that (the Arts Center) has given us a home with a good wood floor for dancing," Newhouse said. "There used to be many of these in the Copper Country, but fewer and fewer are available for dances. If the dance floor were more accessible and opened up with natural light and ventilation, I think it would be used more by the community."
Fred Knoch, corporate relations director for Finlandia University's Jutila Center for Global Design and Business and CCCAC Board member, said some Finlandia students do internships at the Community Arts Center now and Phyllis Fredendall, Finlandia International School of Art and Design (ISAD) fiber arts professor, takes her class to the Arts Center for exhibits as well.
Knoch, along with Coté and some Finlandia ISAD faculty members, also met with McElvee and Clarke to talk about sustainability design and gave them a tour of the Jutila Center, where ISAD classes are held.
Cynthia Coté, Community Arts Center executive director (right, foreground) met on Oct. 29 in the Jutila Center with Chris Clarke and Heather McElvee of the Pittsburgh Glass Center (seated on her right) and (continuing counter-clockwise) Barbara Hardy and Finlandia Professor Rick Loduha of the Sustainable Keweenaw Resource Center; Fred Knoch, corporate relations director for Finlandia University's Jutila Center for Global Design and Business; and Bonnie Holland, Jutila Center executive director, to discuss more options for the Community Arts Center's green building project."I would really like to make a connection with the letter press (owned by the Arts Center)," Knoch said.
Finlandia students could possibly use the press to learn how to publish a book, he explained.
CCCAC to seek input at Nov. 10 meeting
Knoch will facilitate a meeting titled "ONE HOUR! ONE BUILDING! NO LIMITS!" from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Community Arts Center, 126 Quincy Street in Hancock.
Cynthia Coté says this will be a playful "no holds barred" environment so that people can offer input to help inform the design team which will convene at the first charrette on November 18.*
Anyone who wishes to attend should call the Community Arts Center at 482-2333 or send an email to ccarts@chartermi.net.
*Editor's Note: The "charrette" is a series of three meetings of the design team, Arts Center staff and Arts Center members. These meetings will be held Nov. 18 at the Arts Center in Hancock, Nov. 19 at the U.P. Engineers and Architects office in Houghton and Nov. 21 at the Marsin Center. Anyone interested in being on the design team needs to attend all three meetings and should contact Cynthia Coté (see above).
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