Renovation of Historic Federal Courthouse Seeks LEED Platinum
The $15-million modernization of the Wayne N. Aspinall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Grand Junction, Colo., preserves the historic character of the 41,562-sq-ft building while transforming it into one of the most energy-efficient, sustainable public landmarks in the country.
The project aims to be GSA's first net-zero-energy building on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed to achieve LEED-Platinum status, the innovative model turns a 1918 building into a net producer of energy.
The building houses nine federal agencies that were fully operational during construction; however, some temporary relocations took place during key construction milestones. Weifield Group was challenged to continue providing power to the existing tenants while new panels and electrical systems were being modified.
It took great attention to detail to bring sustainability to this remodel. For example, all 714 available branch circuits in the building are monitored for power consumption to help with long-term monitoring of tenant power consumption. There are also controllable plug strips at the workstations that operate based on occupancy so all local devices (fans, cell phone chargers, monitors, etc.) will power down if a tenant leaves the workstation for longer than five minutes.
Best Colorado/Wyoming Renovation/Restoration Project
Special Judges' Recognition
Wayne N. Aspinall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
Grand Junction, Colo.
Key Players
Owner GSA Public Building Service, Denver
Architect/GC The Beck Group, Denver
Electrical Contractor Weifield Group Contracting, Denver
Structural, MEP Engineer Westlake Reed Leskosky, Cleveland
Fire Protection & Life Safety Protection Engineering Group, Duluth, Ga.
Blast Analysis & Engineering Weidlinger Associates Inc., New York City
