This historic former bathhouse was resurrected by the William A. Kerr foundation to be a showplace for sustainable strategies in St. Louis. Photos by Tim Montgomery.
A century-old blighted building is transformed into a showplace for sustainable strategies.
An integrated design approach was used to find the full sustainable potential of this historic building.
The William A. Kerr Foundation transformed a historically significant building in a blighted area of downtown St. Louis, Mo., into an educational showplace for sustainable strategies. In so doing, the award-winning 21 O’ Fallon St. project has attained the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating of Platinum.
The late 1800s-era building was originally constructed as a bathhouse, due to its location atop a natural mineral spring, and the building was in desperate need of repair. It had most recently functioned as a warehouse and a paint shop prior to its purchase by William A. Kerr Foundation trustee, Dr. John Sweet, M.D., to be used for the foundation’s offices and public educational activities.
The foundation began to assemble a team of professionals to assist in transforming the 5,200-square-foot property into a sustainable office and educational facility. TMA Architects LLC, a local green architecture firm, began the initial conceptual design work for the building and brought in the necessary project team to complete the renovation/restoration. Trustee Sweet, a longtime advocate of environmental strategies, committed plans for LEED certification early on.
Integration and Innovation
The newly established project team saw as many possibilities as the trustees, which led to the start of a truly integrated design approach. The entire team worked together from the onset to give new life to this building. Every member believed in the project and had a strong desire to find the full potential of this small building with an interesting past. Instead of struggling for ways to capture or keep a LEED point, the team used innovative strategies that added points to the scorecard at little or no additional cost to construction.
Notable design strategies on the inside include recycled wood joists, recycled kitchen cabinetry, and relocated steel columns and beams. A raised plenum office floor is complemented by various floorcoverings such as bamboo, cork and Marmoleum. Behind the scenes are low-flow plumbing fixtures, and energy efficient HVAC and lighting systems. In addition to Brownfield remediation, bioswales and rain barrels, the exterior boasts a green roof system, solar photovoltaics, Solatubes and a wind turbine.
Research, Education and Community Outreach
Many of the facility’s original elements were reused or recycled in the building’s reincarnation, including wood joists, kitchen cabinetry, and steel columns and beams.
The William A. Kerr Foundation is a family-run non-profit dedicated to funding and helping groups committed to projects designed to improve education, enrich the environment, and promote health and accessibility, chiefly in the geographical regions of St. Louis and Walnut Creek, Calif. Since the foundation’s mission statement includes a purpose to educate and promote sustainable practices, the building has achieved the expectations of the trustees via the applications and continuing educational tours and seminars at this site. Seminar topics include: residential, commercial and community development practices and impacts, including first and long-term cost analyses; performance studies and impact assessments; true cutting-edge innovations; occupant productivity, health and welfare studies; and real estate trends and projections. Others include formal, professional, tenant, and consumer education programs and outcomes such as green building education curricula, materials and instruction; integrated design education strategies; and consumer-focused sustainability education.
The results appear to be a “win-win” for the William A. Kerr Foundation, the St. Louis community and green building advocacy.
Sidebar: 21 O’Fallon St. Renovation
Location: St. Louis
Function: Office for William A. Kerr Foundation and Educational Space
Size: 5,200 square feet
Completed Date: 2006
LEED Status: Platinum rating
Sidebar: Sustainable Design Features and Products
INTERIOR
Daylighting through venting, fixed skylights, by Solatube.
Flooring: bamboo, cork, recycled carpet tiles and Forbo Marmoleum.
Glass floor-daylights (lower level).
Low-flow, dual flush plumbing fixtures.
Milk paints, no VOCs.
Raised access-plenum HVAC floor.
Recycled kitchen cabinets from Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
Recycled office partitions and wood joists, steel from building.
EXTERIOR
Bicycle racks (with shower facility inside).
Bioswales, retention areas.
Brownfield remediation.
Composite roof deck.
First wind turbine within city limits of St. Louis.
Local climate tolerant and native growing landscaping.
Low Impact Development (LID) landscape architecture / site development.
Low-voltage landscape lighting and low-level screened parking lighting.
Modular Greenroof Systems by Green Roof Blocks and Green Paks.
Pervious pavers.
Photovoltaics: 3.5 KW Uni-Solar PVL System.
Rain barrels for watering plants
Sidebar: Project Team
Owner: William A. Kerr Foundation (trustees Dr. John Sweet, M.D., and William Sweet)
Architect: Tim Montgomery, LEED AP, principal of TMA Architects LLC
Landscape Architect: Mary DeWeese of Acorn Landscape
M.E.P. Engineers: Brett Krug P.E., principal of Solutions AEC
Structural Engineer: Kent MacPeek P.E.
Sustainable Consultant: Vertegy
Green Roof: Kelly Luckett of Green Roof Blocks
Solar PV/Wind Turbine: Bob Solger of The Energy Savings Store
Skylights/Solatubes: St. Louis Skylights
General Contractor: Trumpet Builders
TimMontgomeryLEED AP Tim Montgomery, LEED AP, is the owner and principal architect of TMA Architects LLC. Raised in St. Louis County, he graduated from the University of Missouri at Rolla with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering, practiced as a consulting M.E. and plant engineer, including several years as a solar designer in Colorado in the mid 1970s, returning to St. Louis in 1979 to pursue his Masters of Architecture at Washington University. He is a registered architect in many states, including Missouri, where he obtained his initial registration. Tim has 36 years of experience in a broad range of architecture, engineering and project management for commercial facilities and residential design, now specializing in sustainable design and green rehab.
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