Two groups of students from Chatham University will have their designs combined to transform the sixth floor of the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh from office space into “Green Central.”
“Green Bean’s Design” and “Strada Style” beat out two University of Pittsburgh teams to design “Green Central,” which will serve as the city’s recycling and information center showcasing its environmentally friendly projects around the city.
Kathleen Hrabovsky, instructor at Chatham’s Interior Architecture program and advisor to the winning teams, said visitors to city hall will find signage inviting them to “Green Central.”
“On the sixth floor they will find a directory shaped in the shape of a triangle,” said Hrabovsky, “which will highlight green projects within the Golden Triangle and outside the Golden Triangle itself, providing them with information on the projects.”
She said, once the project is finished, the hallway will be faced with a renewable mural showcasing progress the city made in environmental changes. People will also find shelves with computers that provide access to information on the city’s green projects., and custom recycling bins made out of recyclable material mimicking wood grain.
Hrabovsky said the city provided students with instructional posters, letters, and written narrative reports. She said they also arranged meetings between contestant groups and community leaders, and provided a budget.
“Both of the Chatham teams were able to achieve $25,000 or less in budget,” said Hrabovsky. “And the city of Pittsburgh will use their in-house staff and outside materials to build the project together.”
She said now that design phase is over the city would like the students’ input during construction. Building is expected to start this fall and be done by Spring 2013.
