

An office where people hug one another when they see each other is great. Add in an incredibly beautiful work environment that also is focused on good healthy as well as sustainability and you have Detroit’s Green Garage.
The building dates back to 1920, when it was a showroom for Model T-based automobiles, and it is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Co-founders Tom and Peggy Brennan purchased it in 2008 and, with a group of about 200 people completed a green, historic renovation over the next three years. It opened for business in 2011.
The minute you walk in the door, you feel welcome and intrigued. There is the friendly entryway with its pictures from the building’s automotive past. There is the friendly gentleman who was there the day we visited who gives you a warm “Hello!” and offers to guide you to the right person or place. And then there’s the library, where books about Detroit and sustainability are available for your perusal.
Some desks from that same warehouse populate the Businesses in Residence community. This diverse group of small- to mid-size companies share the same values of sharing space and redefining entrepreneurship. Not only to they want to make a profit, but they also want to show that business can improve society through giving back and following the Triple Bottom Line (Profit, People and Planet).
Some highlights: Its heating and cooling system is a hybrid type system that allows the earth’s natural systems (e.g. the sun and earth) to do as much of the heating and cooling work as possible, and only when they cannot meet the required heating and cooling levels are high-efficiency mechanical systems required to complete the job.
The building’s ventilation system integrates mechanical ventilation components with moisture control to create an efficient and healthy system for the building. And its windows were intentionally designed to maximize the daylight they allow into the building while balancing the lower thermal properties of the windows versus the normal wall.
This Friday, the noontime Community Lunch will feature presenters Peggy Brennan and Matt Piper on the Green Garage Urban Sustainability Library. If you feel inspired by this work and would like to learn more or connect further, check out its website, Facebook or Twitter.