14 Maple Avenue, Morristown, New Jersey
Click image to see large rendering
The story of Dodge’s green building project is, in many ways, closer to the beginning than it is to the end - despite eight years of dreaming, planning, researching and negotiating already under our belts – because we still have much to learn about this process.
The idea of moving to a “green” office space grew out of a desire to live our values as carefully as we fund them. How could Dodge support a sustainable community and growth in our hometown of Morristown?
A green building itself is not a value, but it is a response to a larger value of sustainability, of committing to reducing our impact on increasingly fragile ecosystems and limited natural resources. Furthermore, a green office space in the heart of Morristown’s vibrant downtown would help us reconnect with neighborhood life, shops and our partners and friends in the community – important connections that our current location makes difficult.
We found a partner in the Morristown Parking Authority who agreed to build its four-story headquarters, which will house new office space for Dodge and fellow tenants The Seeing Eye, the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation and the Morristown Partnership, with the goal of becoming LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. The headquarters will be Morristown’s first green building, one of only a few LEED-certified buildings in north Jersey, and one of only a handful of LEED-certified projects in the U.S. that includes both an office building and a parking garage.
When discussing the design of this new building, we must underscore that the central and defining nature of green design is that it requires a holistic approach: considering each component of the building, in relationship to the context of the whole building, while also considering the impact on the wider environment and community around it. This is a highly complex approach that requires the builders, architects and designers to think creatively to thoroughly integrate the systems in the design of this building.
Each building project, we should also point out, has unique needs and characteristics. There is no one “right” solution that will work in every situation; however, a holistic approach to the design generally ensures a building that will deliver lasting value to the owners, users, and the community at large.
As construction proceeds (the Parking Authority broke ground in late 2006) and the story continues to unfold, we hope to share our insights with you about both process and product, hoping our story will be useful to others who make the decision to “go green.” We start by highlighting some of the building features that were selected for the Parking Authority project.