“When we walked in the door, I had to laugh. It was a deja vu moment,” recalls architect Jan Culbertson of her return to the office at 115 E. Liberty that she and her partners at A3C Collaborative Architecture left eighteen years ago. Memories, particularly of former colleagues, flooded back. Not much else had changed. A large room was divided into three small offices and the walls were painted duller colors, but A3C’s logo was still at the entrance.

A3C left in 1997 when it bought a building at 210 E. Huron from another architectural firm, Colvin, Robinson, and Wright. The three principals, Culbertson, Dan Jacobs, and Brian Winkler, tempered Colvin Robinson’s austere Modern facade with bands of contrasting brick and bay windows. Then, in 2007, they totally transformed the building, adding passive cooling, geothermal heating, and a green roof. The first downtown building to be certified as LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council, it gave them experience in emerging green technologies, which became an important element of their work. “We’re the only company in Michigan certified to do both LEED reviews and Green Globes assessments,” explains Jacobs.

They moved because they got an offer they couldn’t refuse from Cahoots Holdings. They had only a few weeks to find a new place, and they wanted to stay downtown. Fortunately, their old office was available to rent.

“Our plan is to make this office equal to or better than that last building” in efficiency, says Jacobs. Before moving in they put down carpet recycled from another project, turned oak flooring into desk backs, and hung bulletin boards made with corn. They plan to install high-efficiency windows and plumbing. A deck on the back may lend itself to a rain garden.

Both Jacobs and Culbertson like being back on a busier pedestrian street–though they admit it may be a little too active in terms of temptations, with Kilwin’s down the block and Cupcake Station across the street.

Cahoots also bought the two buildings to the west of the A3C building. Investor Joe Malcoun says the plan is to remodel all three into a single integrated space, then offer short-term leases to tech start-ups.

Malcoun says he shares Culbertson and Jacob’s appreciation of the pedestrian experience and is looking at ways “to activate the block.” He wants to encourage more foot traffic by including a large events area as well as a first-floor coffee shop, open to the public.

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This article has been edited since it was published in the August 2015 Ann Arbor Observer. A quote from Dan Jacobs has been corrected.