A Firm Decision

DeKalb County’s new juvenile justice center is gaining attention for seeking silver LEED certification.

By Bea Quirk

When officials in DeKalb County, Ga., started planning a new juvenile court facility, county CEO Vernon Jones envisioned it as a trend-setting facility that would become a national leader in sustainable building.

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Jones decided that the best way to do that was to seek silver LEED certification, making it the first such building in DeKalb County and the first courthouse in Georgia to seek LEED certification. Now, all of the county’s capital projects costing more than $5 million are required to be built to LEED standards.

“It’s the wave of the future,” Jones says. “We need to be environmentally friendly and energy efficient. There are some higher costs on the front end, but in the long-term, you save money. We’re taking a local approach to provide national leadership in this area.”

The $37.5 million Gregory A. Adams Juvenile Justice Center had its grand opening in late June. Ground was broken in September 2005 on the five-story, 110,000-sq-ft building, which features six courtrooms, 30 holding cells, six classrooms and several administrative areas.

The architects and contractors incorporated LEED standards into their plans from the start. David Bitter, the lead designer with Atlanta-based Turner Associates Architects & Planners, says that was unusual three years ago, but it is now a common practice. Bitter says he and company CEO Oscar Harris spent about one year creating the design.

Adams, who became a Superior Court judge in 2005, served as chief judge of DeKalb County’s Juvenile Court for 10 years and was involved in the new center’s design. For example, he suggested that the hallways and lobby be painted in “warm, soothing tones,” and he wanted columns on the exterior to symbolize a strong foundation. He also asked for a design that created an atmosphere of hope.

The lobby features a “wall of hope,” a glass piece etched with scenes from the judicial system.

In addition, the center was sited so that the adjacent adult jail can’t be seen from the front of the building. Elsewhere, windows have been frosted so the adult jail can’t be seen.

“It’s a mixed message,” Bitter says. “The juveniles here need to realize the consequences of their actions, but they also need to be told, ‘We are here to help you.’”

Designing a justice center also requires special attention to security and logistics, Bitter says. “You need to keep people where they belong, and you have populations – inmates, the public, judges – whose paths shouldn’t cross. That includes corridors, stairs and elevators.”

The technology is demanding as well. Sophisticated monitoring and security systems are needed, and special attention must be paid to the courtrooms’ acoustical and lighting systems.

There were budget constraints, too. The original precast concrete exterior was changed to a stucco system because of cost concerns, but that also made the building more difficult to detail. A ramp for handicapped access was eliminated and replaced with a system that allows disabled persons to use an intercom to call for a vehicle to pick them up. 

Bitter says the pickup system saved $60,000, and it also means that people in wheelchairs don’t have to travel up and down a ramp with a 30-ft drop.

Atlanta-based Skanska USA Building, the general contractor, had been involved in LEED-certified construction projects for several years, so it did not have to go through a learning curve on the project. The site already housed four structures, which were torn down, and about 90% of the materials was recycled. The concrete was crushed onsite and then used there as infill material.

The center was built as much as possible with materials from within 500 mi away, and woods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council FSC were used for doors, paneling and benches. The sealants, paints and carpet had low VOC content. An indoor air-quality plan was implemented, which included a two-week building flush when all the vents were opened to flush out the interior with outside air.

Construction wastes were recycled. Chargers were installed in the parking lot for electric cars, and bike racks and locker and shower facilities were included for those biking to work. The project also earned points toward LEED certification because it is located across the street from a stop along Atlanta’s mass transit system, MARTA.

While Skanska was well-versed with LEED requirements, subs were still catching up, says Matt Jones (no relation to the DeKalb CEO), Skanska’s project executive for the center.

For example, the company that did the demolition work did not include recycling the materials in its initial bid. “He said he wasn’t interested in it and that it would cost extra money,” Matt Jones says. “But when we went through it with him again, he was surprised to learn he could have big savings.”

Skanska staff also had to monitor all the materials that came onsite to ensure the order was correct. A third-party LEED consultant was hired to verify and audit the work on a monthly basis.

Still, Matt Jones adds, “LEED certification is becoming second nature for everyone, and it’s getting easier. People are getting familiar with the terms and requirements.”

Working on a tight five-acre site just a block away from the busy intersection of Memorial Drive and Interstate 285 was the project’s biggest hurdle, Matt Jones says. To make sure trucks weren’t caught in traffic, concrete pours began at 2 a.m.

The pouring process took four months to complete, and Skanska self-performed the foundation work. “Self-performing concrete work is not that unusual for us. We tend to self-perform the critical path of concrete and foundations. It lets us closely control the process.”

The site had just one way in and out, a steep grade and was uneven. A flat crane pad was used for the 220-ton crane that had to be able to reach the entire site.

DeKalb County’s goal was to have 15% of the work subbed out to local and small businesses. But with concerted efforts, such as a small-business conference and encouraging larger subs to hire local small firms, the figure ended up closer to 30%.

That will help Skanska in the future was well, Matt Jones says. “It enlarges the pool of subs for our other projects,” he adds.