Health & Human Services Building

Robert Tuttle

“Relocating my office and the engineering labs took almost a month to pack and move,” recalled Robert Tuttle, associate engineering professor, adding that “it was pretty hectic because we packed while finishing winter classes.”49

Life proved difficult for the art students and faculty as well. Space already was a concern for art students, and the presence of the engineering classes made space even more at a premium in Arbury. “Sculpture students have to share the same space with those doing paintings, and there isn’t enough room to leave their work out while they’re creating it,” Hocquard noted at the time. Sharing space with the engineers made the space even more constricted.50 In 2007, the original theatre building was renovated to serve as an art studio for the Art Department.

After a year of construction, Pioneer Hall re-opened Sept. 10, 2007, with new classrooms and state-of-the-art foundry, bio-fuels, engine dyno and automotive performance laboratories.51

Pioneer Hall earned a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) silver rating, the first building in the Great Lakes Bay Region to attain such an honor. Before awarding LEED status, the United States Green Building Council evaluates buildings according to five criteria: site sustainability, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resources and environmental quality.

The building’s round support beams use 20 percent less steel while allowing easy access for wiring, piping, and ductwork. The floors are polished concrete, reducing maintenance and replacement costs exponentially. The floors reflect light and, when coupled with the installation of energy-efficient windows and photo-sensors that dim lights when there is enough sun, use of electricity was dramatically reduced. An innovative heating and cooling system made the building energy efficient. Faucet sensors, waterless urinals and other water-saving installations made Pioneer Hall more than 30 percent more water efficient than building code standards mandate.

The emphasis on conservation and efficiency was apparent even during the interior demolition phase. Project architect Paul Haselhuhn of the Saginaw firm of Wigen Tincknell Meyer and Associates noted that the contractors had installed recycling bins throughout the construction site. “The contractors are recycling everything from steel to plastic to cardboard to masonry products,” Haselhuhn said. “Ordinarily, a lot of that would have gone to a landfill.” A section of the old roof was saved and reinstalled, diverting rainwater to nearby planted areas that filter the runoff before it drains away.52

Health & Human Services Building

Discussions that would lead to the construction of the Health & Human Services Building began as early as 2006 when the Board of Control noted the need for more space for nursing and health sciences programs. Peer institutions were opening new buildings with state-of-the-art equipment in a field where technology changes rapidly, and Gilbertson set a new home for the College of Health & Human Services as a primary need if the university wished to maintain its effectiveness and competitiveness.53

Janalou Blecke, dean of the Crystal M. Lange College of Health & Human Services, spent a lot of time in Lansing talking to legislators to get funding for the new building.

“Everything just aligned,” she said. The estimates for the building came in under budget, meaning that architects could integrate some of the options that were on the wish list. Construction offered jobs for people in the region. The end result, Blecke noted, was that the building was “anything and everything I could have ever, ever hoped for.”

Construction crews broke ground in 2009 and completed their work in the summer of 2010.54 The project included the expansion of the parking lot for staff and students using the new building and the adjacent Regional Education Center. The cost was $28 million, with the state providing 75 percent and SVSU picking up the remainder. The university dedicated the facility Aug. 16, 2010.

The 90,000-square-foot Health & Human Services Building features the largest aqua-thermal heating and cooling system in Michigan.