The Robert S. Vance Federal Building and Courthouse is an iconic historical and landmark building located in downtown Birmingham, AL. It was designed in 1916 as a two-story building and built in 1921. Two more floors were added in 1926. The building has gone through several rehabilitation and improvement projects through the years, which resulted in deficiencies in functions as a Federal building. Today, this building is going through full-scale modernization and renovation funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 signed by President Obama.
This 90-yr-old building will become a great representation of sustainability, innovation, and energy savings for governmental buildings as it cultivates several federal and national standards and initiatives. Those include the ARRA high-performance and green buildings mandates as spelled out in Executive Order 13514, and the General Services Administration requirements of 20% less energy usage than its baseline usage in 2003. However, GSA-Region 4 has more stringent energy goals. In order to meet ARRA and Region 4 requirements, the project team utilized some innovative solutions to recover energy and water and create a high-performance building.