Kline Chemistry Laboratory

A gut renovation of the Kline Chemistry Laboratory has created a highly energy-efficient facility, with open work spaces and more than 60 high-performance fume hoods, the highest density of any building on campus. Renovation of the three-story building entailed replacement of all building systems and finishes, new core additions and exterior glazing, as well as life safety upgrades. The open lab plan replaces the 1964 layout of small lab spaces around a central curricular corridor, with organic/synthetic chemistry on the top floor, biophysical chemistry in the middle, and a major analytical instrument center—including X-ray and large magnet instruments—on the ground floor.

Conservation strategies include a new building envelope and HVAC systems, more efficient fume hood use, reduced air changes and power watt densities, minimizing outside air and reheat, occupancy controls, and hood proximity sensors.

Only two of the four 8-foot fume hoods in a chemistry lab are expected to operate at the same time, though the infrastructure allows all four to run simultaneously. The face velocity of the hoods varies between 80 feet per minute when in use and 60 feet per minute when not, almost half the face velocity of older hoods, resulting in an expected energy savings of $50,000 a year.

The building is tracking LEED Gold.