‘While this is, perhaps, not the most glamorous of state park buildings, it is one to which every park visitor can relate,” said Paul Dickinson, AIA, Integrated Architecture president. “With 97 state parks located from the UP to the Indiana boarder, this is an opportunity to make a significant impact on park architecture. Creating a sustainable standard design not only meets the new state guidelines for green design, it also educates through architecture, the benefits and environmental savings of well-designed sustainable buildings,” Dickinson stated.

“Our goal is to create a standard that results in buildings that will become ‘gems’ of the DNR, utilizing sustainable materials and forward thinking technologies to create green structures filled with natural light, fresh air and surrounded by indigenous plants,” Dickinson continued.

Integrated Architecture, the 2006 AIA Michigan Firm of the Year, practices sustainable architecture. Its resume of ‘green’ projects includes the national award-winning Herman Miller Marketplace, Michigan’s first Gold LEED office building; the LEED certified David D. Hunting YMCA, the nation’s first LEED YMCA and the nation’s first LEED certified church, Keystone Community in Ada.