Through this process, HOK discovered that office space requirements in laboratory buildings are often under-estimated, which results in overcrowding within office areas and the need to convert valuable lab space into office space. The most successful solutions have incorporated flexible zones that enable easy conversion to other uses.

The CBE has found that work stations for research staff typically do not provide satisfactory visual and acoustic privacy or sufficient storage space. The areas of dissatisfaction are most pronounced for people performing work that requires long hours of intense concentration.

Achieving the proper acoustics within lab and office environments is also a major challenge. Typical concerns include excessive noise from the HVAC systems and a lack of acoustic privacy. Overall privacy is a concern in both open lab and office environments. Design strategies that provide individual rooms for private conversations help address this issue.

Successful integration of electric lighting and daylighting is a particular challenge for high performance green buildings. Sometimes, well-intentioned design solutions suffer from too much lighting and glare. This scenario demonstrates why special attention must be paid to design analysis to ensure proper lighting and the reduction of glare on every project.

Proper commissioning of a building is also critical to ensuring that the sustainable design strategies are accomplishing what they were meant to achieve. Lab buildings without commissioning or with limited commissioning on average lose 20 percent of their projected energy savings.

The CBE

The Center for the Built Environment’s mission is to improve the design, operation, and environmental quality of buildings by providing timely, unbiased information on building technologies and design techniques.

CBE’s Web-based Occupant IEQ Survey quantifies how a building is performing from the perspective of its occupants. When a building owner signs up for the survey, an automated email is sent to all building occupants asking them to fill in a questionnaire, which takes approximately five to 10 minutes to complete. The survey creates a standardized database of responses that allow building owners to benchmark their individual buildings against groups of similar buildings in order to make informed management decisions, and to assess the effectiveness of building features and design strategies. The survey offers benchmark comparisons of building type, size, year, and design features, and has recently developed a special module for laboratory buildings.

Core questions address the issues of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics, office layout, and office furnishings. Questions related to the laboratory include layout, thermal quality, air quality, lighting, and acoustics.

There are more than 200 buildings that have been surveyed with responses from more than 27,000 individuals. The survey costs $1,000.

For more information about the Center for the Built Environment visit: http://www.cbe.berkeley.edu
For a demonstration of the CBE’s Occupant Indoor Environmental Quality Survey: http://www.cbesurvey.org
Contact the CBE at (510) 642-4950.