Boston-based Wainwright Bank & Trust Co. recently opened its first environmentally friendly “green” building branch in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner.
Despite its multicolored Web site and bank newsletters, Wainwright Bank & Trust Co.’s favorite color might be green. The Boston-based institution recently opened its first environmentally friendly “green” building branch in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner and, within the first two weeks, has seen the largest influx of deposits ever for that amount of time.
From busy Harvard Street, the branch looks like any other, with a large sign and entrance with ATMs. Upon further investigation, however, bank customers will realize this branch is slightly different than the others. Bamboo flooring runs through the 2,800-square-foot branch, while cabinets and counters are made of cornstalk fiberboard. Those materials were used to reduce the depletion of raw materials by replacing them with rapidly renewable resources.
While the materials may sound earthy, the branch maintains an updated feel with several flat-screen televisions at the entrance and an entire wall illuminated by color-changing lights. Despite such technology, bank spokesman Steve Young said even those materials are environmentally friendly. The electricity illuminating the wall is equivalent to a 60-watt bulb, Young said. The paneling around the wall is also made of recycled aluminum.
The green building approach isn’t just a gimmick that the bank is using to lure in customers, although it could be working – the bank has generated $10 million in new deposits in the first two weeks of the branch’s opening. Young said building a green branch is another way Wainwright is responding to social issues.
“It was a natural extension of our branding and our philosophy,” said Young.
Wainwright Bank, which has assets of $725 million, has committed more than $400 million in loans for community development projects including affordable housing, environmental protection, homeless shelters, food banks and other social issues. Young said because of the bank’s reputation, it was only fitting that the bank would build a branch that was environmentally friendly.
“We’ve focused on environmental [initiatives] as it relates to social justice issues,” Young said.
‘A Little More Dynamic’
While many banks say customers respond better to branches that look alike, Wainwright doesn’t subscribe to that philosophy. Each branch has a different look and feel to it, Young said.
Bryan Poisson, president of Approach Architects in Boston, which designed the Coolidge Corner branch, said one of the biggest challenges of the project was trying to maintain the bank’s branding by creating a unique look while still finding the appropriate materials to construct a green building.
“There were challenges on many levels,” Poisson said.
Poisson’s firm partnered with Wainwright to design the branch and implemented a variety of strategies to ensure the building would qualify as a green building.
The branch was established in an urban area with the intention of preserving natural habitats and open space. The branch, located steps from the MBTA’s Green Line, was intentionally built near a subway station that would be usable by employees and customers in order to reduce automobile pollution.
Above the bank employee desks and teller stations, “sun tubes” provide lighting into the bank. Tubes reach from the roof of the building downward into the branch, providing outside light. As they get brighter, the regular lighting powered by electricity will dim, saving on energy costs. Energy conservation was achieved by installing light sensors and controls, as well as EnergyStar-rated equipment.
A dedicated recycling area for paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metals also was created to reduce the amount of waste generated by the branch. Recycling was also a concern during the building process, and the team reduced the impact of construction resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials and used products that contain recycled content, such as rubber flooring, carpet, countertops and aluminum window frames.
All of those initiatives will allow the bank to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. According to the council’s Web site, the LEED rating system is a “voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.” LEED offers a complete framework to assess building performance and meeting sustainability goals.
Water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality and sustainable site development are all standards of LEED.
Although the finished product of Wainwright’s Brookline branch is proving to be a success, it didn’t come easily. Young said the office ended up costing more to design and build than a typical branch. The “green” features of the Coolidge Corner build-out added an additional 13 percent to the normal cost of construction. Young said it is estimated that the bank will make all that money back within 12 years.
“It’s going to be worthwhile,” Poisson said.
The branch also experienced some delays during construction. Unaware that recycled aluminum takes longer to be made than new aluminum, the bank hit a few snags in timing, according to Young.
“It was the first green building for the architect,” he noted.
It was also the first green building for the construction company, which had to divert 50 percent of construction debris from landfill disposal through sorting and recycling.
“We all learned together,” Young said.
Poisson said there were also the normal banking issues such as customer privacy and teller stations, which had to be taken into consideration when designing the floor plan. With the many tiers of challenges, Poisson said it made for interesting work.
“It provides a design opportunity that is a little more dynamic,” he said.
With one green building under their belt, the next green branch is expected to be a little easier for the bank. Wainwright is set to open another green location, this time in Newton. Young said he expects all of the bank’s future branches to be green buildings.
