Substations are critical components in the electrical grid, and while necessary, they can be unsightly. Industrial in appearance, substations are all metal girders, support beams, pipes and wires. Sitting a substation near a neighborhood is a challenge for any public utility. The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) faced unique issues in locating its new Central Substation in the historic REO Town district of Lansing, Mich.

"The Board of Water & Light made a commitment to the community that the design of the new substation would revitalize the area's landscape and establish an inviting gateway to REO Town," said Bob Ford, ASLA, principal, Landscape Architects & Planners, Inc., the firm selected to make good on BWL's promise.

The Substation Site
The Lansing Board of Water & Light is a municipally-owned public utility that provides utility services to more than 97,000 electric and 56,000 water customers throughout the Lansing area. The $28-million Central Substation project is one part of Lansing Energy Tomorrow, the BWL's five-year, $101-million program to replace and upgrade aging infrastructure. Improvements include new transmission lines, five new or rebuilt substations, and additional capacitor banks at key points on BWL's transmission system.

The location of the Central Substation was chosen after an exhaustive search of potential sites. Located to utilize existing underground concrete tunnel infrastructure and electricity distribution lines and conduits, the selected site was the most cost-effective option. However, the site is at the corner of South Washington Avenue and West Malcolm X Street, a gateway to the REO Town historic district, which is undergoing revitalization after decades of neglect. The design of the new substation had to be sensitive to the history of the area and the concerns of new residents, including adding more greenery.

Moreover the new substation would impinge on Scott Park and the Scott Sunken Garden. Constructed in 1930, it is one of the few surviving landmark features of REO Town's historic landscape.

"We understood the importance of the Sunken Garden in the history of REO Town," said Dick Peffley, general manager, BWL. "We committed to relocating the garden with its original limestone walls - stone by stone."

 
Landscape Solution: Brick Walls, Green Walls
The first, and in many ways the most significant, design decision was to enclose the substation with brick walls. "The brick walls recall the style of the buildings in REO Town during its industrial heyday as the manufacturing hub of the REO Motor Car Company," said Ford.

The three iconic smokestacks of the old coal-fired Eckert Power Station are memorialized in a sculpture on the substation's northeast corner wall. The sculpture connects the substation structure to the district's history.

To green up the brick, a 425-square-foot living wall was installed in two sections on the north and west sides of the substation with the LiveWall??????+ Outdoor Living Wall System. "We intended the living walls to provide a green focal point and to soften the view of the substation's brick fa???????ade, which people see as they drive into and out of downtown," said Ford. "It helps fulfill the Board of Power & Light's goal of greening the landscape."

Each section of the living wall measures 21'-4" x 10'-3 3/8" and fits into specially recessed frames designed so the green wall could be set into the brick walls. In total, it includes 330 modular planter boxes, which are high-impact, UV-resistant, architectural quality moldings. Manufactured in a cedar color to complement the color of the bricks of the substation's exterior walls, the planter modules contain re-usable inserts that hold the growing medium for the plants and contain a mix of six different annuals.

In addition to the living wall, the project included a new and safer walking path that surrounds the entire Central Substation and offers a series of views of the Grand River, which runs adjacent to the site.

Landscape Solution: Saving the Sunken Garden
To safeguard the plants, they were removed and replanted at nearby Cooley Gardens at the start of the project. Then Clark Construction, the general contractor, disassembled all the limestone walls, moved all the stones approximately 400 feet to the southwest, and then reconstructed the garden. Landscape Architects & Planners, Inc. maintained the formal appearance of the original garden while adding more color as well as new loop trails and pathways.

The new garden location adjacent to the Cooley Garden receives more sunlight than the original. BWL collaborated with the city of Lansing to replant more than 85 percent of the plants in the Sunken Garden and purchased additional new plants better suited for the new orientation.

"The living wall on the brick fa???????ade of the substation serves as a prominent landscape feature that visually connects it to the relocated Scott Sunken Garden," said Ford.

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A Living Veil

Besides helping to green up an area, remove carbon from the atmosphere and reduce the heat island effect, living walls can hide unsightly views. UPMC Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania selected Pashek + MTR to design one, the purpose of which was to screen the building's mechanical systems from their emergency room entrance.

"We were challenged from a number of perspectives, including maintaining access to the hospital's emergency room during construction," the firm admits. "Therefore, emergency vehicle clearances, emergency room access, and emergency room parking could not be interrupted."

Both above grade and buried utilities and their respective clearances needed to be maintained. The location of existing active utilities, mechanical systems and their required clearances prohibited the structure from being anchored with concrete footings. The location of gates and openings were coordinated to ensure access to utilities. Vehicular barriers were seamlessly incorporated in the wall to protect it. The height of the wall was determined by what can be reasonably maintained by hospital staff.

The design for the living wall provides visual interest throughout each season, and during both the day and the night. To provide winter interest, when plants are dormant, the planters are painted in vibrant colors. Random textures and patterns provide for an attractive and appealing effect. LEDs highlight the living wall during the night (last picture above).

As seen in LASN magazine, January 2020.