Former gym gets fit with green makeover

SALT LAKE CITY (Deseret News) — The new office building of Architectural Nexus in Salt Lake's eastern foothills is a veritable cache of the latest and greatest in sustainable technology.

Located in a remodeled office building that for a while served as a Bally Total Fitness gym, the structure at 2505 E. Parleys Way has been transformed from an aging concrete block structure to a multi-dimensional, gas and steel building that could be among the first in the city to reach the highest possible certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The kicker? After tax rebates, all the sustainable improvements to the 52-year-old structure will cost just 5 percent more than a conventional renovation would have, and even those costs will be repaid in energy savings within the first decade, Architectural Nexus President Donald T. Finlayson said during a Deseret News tour of the facility.

The renovation is centered on natural light. Automatic dimmers work with the rising and falling sun to provide daylight to 75 percent of the building. In addition, solar panels atop the blinding white roof provide all of the electricity the facility needs.

In sum, the building once used the energy of 15 houses, but it is now completely self-sustaining.

Original Article