Walk onto the University of Michigan’s Diag and you’ll see the heavy hitters. You have the towering Hatcher Graduate Library and the massive columns of Angell Hall. But tucked away on the northeast corner is a building that looks, at first glance, like a standard piece of early 20th-century architecture.
It’s the Samuel T. Dana Building.
Most people just walk right past it. Honestly, if you aren’t a student at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), you might only know it as "that brick building near Chemistry." But there’s a massive irony sitting inside those walls. This structure, which started its life in 1903 as the West Medical Building, is now a global poster child for green renovation.
The Samuel T. Dana Building and the LEED Gold Revolution
Back in 2004, the Dana Building did something pretty radical. It became the first academic building in the State of Michigan—and one of the first in the entire country—to earn a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Think about that for a second.
We aren't talking about a shiny new glass tower built from scratch with a billion-dollar budget. We’re talking about a building where doctors used to perform dissections in the early 1900s. Turning a drafty, century-old medical school into a high-performance environmental hub is sort of like trying to turn a vintage Ford Model T into a Tesla. It shouldn't work, but it does.
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The renovation was led by Quinn Evans Architects and the legendary William McDonough + Partners. If you know anything about sustainable design, McDonough is a big deal—he basically wrote the book on "Cradle to Cradle" design. They didn't just slap some solar panels on the roof and call it a day.
What’s actually going on inside?
If you step into the Ford Commons—the massive atrium that was once just an open-air courtyard—you'll feel it immediately. The space is flooded with natural light.
- The Courtyard Enclosure: They took the original "O" shaped footprint and put a roof over the middle. This created 11,000 square feet of new space without expanding the building's physical footprint on the Diag.
- Recycled Everything: When they tore out parts of the old building, they didn't just chuck it in a landfill. About 80% of the construction waste was diverted. They used recycled tires for flooring in some spots and cork in others.
- Compost Toilets: Yeah, you read that right. For a long time, the Dana Building was famous (or infamous) for its composting toilets. It was a bold experiment in water conservation. While the building has evolved its systems over the years, that "waste-not" philosophy is baked into the walls.
- The Attic Fans: Instead of running massive, energy-hungry AC units 24/7, the building uses a sophisticated natural ventilation system.
Who was Samuel Trask Dana?
You can't really talk about the building without talking about the man. Samuel Trask Dana wasn't just some guy with a deep pocketbook. He was a titan in the world of forestry.
He came to Michigan in 1927 to serve as the dean of what was then the School of Forestry and Conservation. Dana was a visionary because he pushed for the "conservation" part of that title. He understood earlier than most that you couldn't just look at trees as timber; you had to look at the whole ecosystem.
He served as dean until 1951, and the building was officially named in his honor in 1961 when the School of Natural Resources moved in. It’s fitting. The man who advocated for the sustainable management of our planet now has his name on a building that literally breathes.
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Why it matters more in 2026
In an era where we're obsessed with "new," the Samuel T. Dana Building is a reminder that the greenest building is often the one that’s already standing.
There's a concept called embodied carbon. Basically, it’s the energy already "spent" to create the bricks, the steel, and the concrete of an existing structure. If you tear down an old building to build a "green" one, you're starting with a massive carbon debt. By gutting and reimagining the Dana Building, U-M saved a massive amount of energy that would have been lost in a demolition.
Today, the building houses SEAS. It’s where people study climate change, environmental justice, and sustainable systems. It’s a "living laboratory." Students aren't just reading about sustainability in textbooks; they are sitting inside a case study.
Things you’ll notice (if you look closely)
Next time you’re hanging out on Central Campus, duck inside.
Check out the Enviro-Art Gallery. It’s a rotating space that proves environmentalism isn't just about data and charts—it’s about culture. Look at the wood finishes. Much of it is salvaged or sustainably harvested. Even the paint on the walls is low-VOC (volatile organic compounds), which is why the building doesn't have that weird "new office" chemical smell.
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There’s also the Goldman Student Center, which is basically the heartbeat of the building. It’s messy, it’s vibrant, and it’s full of people trying to figure out how to save the world. It’s a far cry from the sterile medical labs of 1903.
Actionable insights for your own space
You might not be renovating a 100,000-square-foot university building, but the Dana Building offers some pretty solid lessons for the rest of us:
- Prioritize Natural Light: The atrium proves that daylight changes the entire vibe of a space. It lowers energy bills and makes people happier.
- Think "Adaptive Reuse": Before you throw something away or replace it, ask if it can be repurposed. The Dana Building is the ultimate "upcycle."
- Landscape with Intent: The gardens around the building use native Michigan plants. They don't need weird pesticides or massive amounts of extra watering because they actually belong in this soil.
The Samuel T. Dana Building isn't just a collection of classrooms. It's a 120-year-old experiment that is still teaching us how to live on this planet without breaking it. It’s proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks—and that those tricks might just save the environment.
Research and visit the Dana Building:
- Visit the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) website for public lecture schedules.
- Walk the Diag and look for the native plant gardens surrounding the building's exterior.
- Explore the University of Michigan’s Office of Campus Sustainability reports to see how Dana's energy metrics compare to newer builds on campus.