Case Studies

Piquette Square - Detroit, Michigan

Winner of National Brownfield Phoenix Award 2011                  Phoenix Award National Grand Prize Runner-Up                     Nominated for AGC Build America Award 2010

Built by O’Brien Construction in 2011, Piquette Square is a state of the art structure that was developed to provide permanent homes and continuing services to homeless veterans in Southwest Detroit. This highly efficient, beautiful four-story brick building contains 150 apartment units, large areas to accommodate supportive services, and 5,000 square feet of commercial space on the floor level. Demonstrating advanced energy engineering and a number of superior efficiency systems, Piquette Square is a great example of energy efficient construction.

Geothermal System: The geothermal system in Piquette Square is designed as “hybrid” system, incorporating four central water to water heat pumps to service Whalen fan coil units in the apartments via a four pipe distribution system.  Common areas and offices are controlled by individual water to air heat pumps   feeding directly from the ground loop.  The four pipe distribution system to the apartments allows the central heat pumps to provide simultaneous heating and cooling water, thereby providing each resident the ability to maintain their apartment at the desired comfort level.  The central heat pumps provide both heating and cooling water through a specified outdoor temperature range providing only heat below the lower limit and only cooling above the upper limit.  This is accomplished through the use of advanced control systems.  Three of the heat pumps provide both heating and cooling water, while the fourth is dedicated to heat only and provides the majority of the hot potable water for the building as well as additional heating load if ever necessary.  The local water to air heat pumps condition the hall in the living areas and the office and recreational areas.  They provide heating or cooling as required by the thermostat setting.  This system has proven to be very efficient to operate and provides the building occupants with a wide range of comfort levels.  

Lighting and Controls: Another innovation is the use of Verve lighting controls in all apartment units.  Verve switches utilize energy harvesting, radio frequency technologies to control lighting, receptacles and temperature. The simple act of turning a switch on or off generates enough energy to transmit radio signals to the 10-channel controller across distances as great as 300 feet. Because each switch generates its own power, Verve switches are completely wireless and battery-less. Every Verve switch can be mounted or moved virtually anywhere allowing for wheelchair bound veterans to carry their light switch with them.  The use of this system reduced the amount of copper wire needed by eliminating runs to switch locations and allows for greater control of lighting schemes and electricity usage.

Envelope: The building envelope was designed perform at a high level of thermal efficiency.   Panelized wall assemblies were designed using 2x6 construction which allows for greater amounts of insulation to be installed and far exceeds current standards.  The unvented roof assembly and light reflective Durolast roofing membrane work to keep solar gain to a minimum.  Sprayed cellulose insulation was chosen not only for its thermal properties but also for its sound deadening ability, which is a vital factor due to the building’s location near roads and railroad tracks.  The Capitol 455 windows have very good thermal rating with very low air infiltration, and combined with the stringent Tyvek installation requirements provide a building shell with very low air infiltration.  All these factors work in concert to give Piquette Square a very efficient building envelope.