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Monday, January 27, 2003

By Jan Ackerman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The Three Rivers Rowing Association's new boathouse in Millvale is painted red, white and blue, reflective of the club's colors and as patriotic as an American flag.

Mike Lambert's reflection is seen in a mirror as he demonstrates equipment at the association's new boathouse in Millvale while Marc Mondor, left, project architect for Green Building Alliance, and Christian E. Klehm, president of Clearview Project Services Co., look on. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

Mike Lambert, executive director of the rowing association, isn't colorblind, but he said the $2 million building really is a "green" building, built according to strict environmental standards.

He said the rowing association wanted the Millvale boathouse to take advantage of natural light and of its unique position on a back channel of the Allegheny River. They wanted it to be energy efficient.

"We wanted a green building," said Lambert. "It is really an attitude toward life ... the idea of using recyclable materials ... running a building that is efficient."

The boathouse, the rowing association's second facility which opened in November in Millvale's riverfront park just off Route 28, is seeking a special designation that will verify its design as an environmentally conscious building.

The builder, Christian E. Klehm, is seeking an LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, establishes common standards for measuring the environmental qualities of an entire building -- standards designed to make it a brighter, cleaner, healthier and more efficient building than a traditionally constructed one.

Marc Mondor, project architect for Green Building Alliance, said about 40 building projects around the nation are LEED-certified and hundreds more are seeking the designation.

Among the examples of new construction in Pittsburgh built using LEED principles, Mondor said, are PNC Firstside in Downtown; the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne; the KSBA architecture office on Butler Street in Lawrenceville; McGowan Institute, a medical research facility in the South Side Works; the Pittsburgh Glass Center in Friendship; and the Siemens Westinghouse Fuel Cell Plant at the Waterfront in Munhall.

Klehm said the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, is being built with LEED standards.

"That will be the largest green building in the country," he said.

	The $2 million boathouse was built according to strict environmental standards. The association wanted to take advantage of natural light and of its unique position on a back channel of the Allegheny River. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

Because Pittsburgh is being recognized for its commitment to green buildings, the city will host the 2003 U.S. Green Building Council's international conference at the new, green convention center in November.

In looking for a building contractor for the Millvale boathouse, Lambert said, the Three Rivers Rowing Association found that not everyone in the building industry is tuned in to environmental issues.

"We told one contractor that we wanted a green building and he said, 'Sure. I can make it any color you want,' " Lambert said.

That contractor didn't get the job.

Instead, the rowing association hired Klehm, president of Clearview Project Services Co. of Hampton, a leading contractor in the environmental field.

"Out of 16 projects seeking LEED ratings in Pennsylvania, my company has been involved in seven of them," Klehm said.

The architectural firm that designed the facility was Ross Schonder Sterzinger Cupcheck P.C. of Pine.

James C. Radock, the principal architect, said the design for the Millvale boathouse was an integration of traditional designs with an industrial motif.

"We took a lot of cues from traditional boathouses, especially those in Boston and Philadelphia," Radock said. "But we modified it to give it a whimsical industrial take. This site used to be a railroad switching yard."

Most of the $2 million for the newboathouse came from several Pittsburgh foundations.

Mondor said the CL Fund provided a $350,000 bridge loan for construction costs and is giving the rowing association a small grant to pay for some of the environmental costs.

"The loan is bridging the gap between money that was pledged but not yet received and a small shortfall in our fund raising," said Lambert, who added that fund raising is continuing. The organization has about 1,560 members.

The facility is actually two corrugated metal buildings, a training center for rowers with rooms for exercising, training and relaxing and a storage building for boats. In the lower level of the training center are two large indoor tanks where two rowing teams can train year-round.

"The tank room is what sets this building apart from other boathouses," Radock said.

Lambert said the tanks, which hold two eight-person boats, are designed to enable coaches to train rowers of all ages and levels to use proper techniques. Beginners can get enough confidence in the tanks to feel comfortable on the river. Experienced rowers can work on improving their skills.

"I believe the tanks will contribute enormously to allowing aspiring athletes in Pittsburgh to attain very high levels of performance in rowing," Lambert said.

The training building has an unrestricted view of the dock where rowers make their way through the channel between Millvale and Washington's Landing at Herrs Island, where the association's other boathouse is located.

Radock said heating and air conditioning are individually zoned in each room. Lights automatically turn off when people leave the rooms.

Entry mats are made of recycled tires and carpeting is made from recycled carpets, Klehm said. Carpeting is laid in squares, so that damaged or stained pieces can easily be replaced. Even the adhesives used to lay the carpet are low-toxin so there are no odors or volatile organic compounds.

One heater and two storage tanks enable the facility to heat enough water for a large number of showers at a reasonable cost.

"Instead of having a lot of water in storage, this efficiently meets the demands as needed," Lambert said.

The upper lounge and deck are glassed in on the south side and offer a peaceful view of the river channel. Radock said the design uses the existing trees to shade the south end of the building in the summer. He said the building was located as close as possible to the river, integrating it to its site.

Inside, everything is practical.

Glass doors open from the lounge area into an adjoining room with rowing machines. The machines can be moved out so the space can be used for social events.

Already, Lambert said, two members of the club are going to hold their wedding there.

Correction/Clarification: (Published Jan. 28, 2003) The CL Fund, a nonprofit community development lender Downtown, provided the $350,000 bridge loan to the Three Rivers Rowing Association for its new boathouse in Millvale. A story about the new boathouse yesterday said incorrectly that Green Building Alliance provided the loan.