Talk about “green” on a grand scale.
In August, General Motors officially opened its massive, LEED Gold-rated Lansing (Mich.) Delta Township Assembly Plant. The $1.5 billion mega-project, which spans 2.4 million sf and houses 3,000 employees when in full production, is the largest manufacturing facility—and the only automotive manufacturing plant in the world—to achieve LEED certification.
GM worked with St. Louis-based sustainability consultant Vertegy to design the green features for the plant. Sustainable highlights include:
Bright task lighting and lower overhead lighting levels to reduce lighting energy use in the plant by 20%, or 3 million kW hours annually.A 1.5 million-sf “cool” roofCFC- and HCFC-free mechanical, refrigeration, and fire suppression systemsRe-use of rainwater for toilet flush waterWater-free urinalsDrought-resistant landscaping
The LEED certification covers the plant's body shop, general assembly area, administration building, and visitor's center. Buildings that house the paint shop and regional stamping activities were previously contracted and constructed.
Other members of the Building Team included general contractor Alberici, St. Louis, and and architect/engineer Ghafari Associates, Dearborn, Mich.