Just when you thought A3C Collaborative Architecture's downtown Ann Arbor headquarters couldn't get any greener, it did.

The Gold LEED certified structure on 210 Huron Avenue is putting the finishing touches on its installation of three new solar panels on its roof. Each solar panel will serve as an example of just what type of environmentally friendly options are available to A3C's customers.

"It demonstrates some of the great renewable energy systems out there," says Dan Jacobs, founding principal and director of sustainable design for A3C Collaborative Architecture.

The small-firm has been working on the historic building since it moved in 1997. The biggest work culminated last year when A3C finished a major renovation that included the installation of a green roof, geothermal heating-and-cooling system and a gaggle of other environmentally friendly features that would make any treehugger green with envy.

The addition of solar panels is the latest extension of that renovation. The solar panels include a thin-film system from Uni-Solar, a crystalline system from Kyocera (the traditional solar panel) and a Solyndra system, which looks like a radiator.

"It's one of the more innovative systems out there," Jacobs says.

Between 70-80 percent of the building's energy comes from renewable sources. A3C is looking at adding urban wind turbines next year.

Source: Dan Jacobs, founding principal and director of sustainable design for A3C Collaborative Architecture
Writer: Jon Zemke