Energy Use Reduction

The Passive House building standard is considered the most rigorous, voluntary energy-based design and construction standard in the industry. Consuming 40 to 90 percent less energy than conventional buildings for heating and cooling, Passive House traditionally has been used in single-family homes, commercial buildings, schools, and office buildings, but the standard is making new strides toward application in energy-intensive laboratory buildings as well. While achieving true Passive House-level performance in a large-scale lab facility is still a far distant (if possible) goal, many of the standard’s fundamental design approaches can be used to significantly reduce energy consumption while improving occupant comfort and air quality.

Piedmont Virginia Community College is planning to build the $20 million Advanced Technical Training Center in Charlottesville, Va. Designed by VMDO as a vibrant hub for academic life, the 45,000-sf facility will provide instructional spaces, administrative offices, and labs for advanced manufacturing, robotics, forensics, and cybersecurity. Offering improved outdoor public areas, the building will include a café and space for student groups. Construction is slated to begin in November of 2020 with completion expected in 2022.

The University of Pennsylvania broke ground in June of 2019 on the $46 million Tangen Hall in Philadelphia. Designed by KSS Architects, the seven-story, 768,000-sf building will house the Integrated Product Design Program, the Venture Lab, the Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program, the Weiss Tech House, the Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Center, and space for the Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship program.

The University of Lincoln will begin construction in fall of 2019 on the £21 million Lincoln Medical School in the United Kingdom.

The University of Illinois at Chicago opened the $100 million Academic and Residential Complex in August of 2019. Representing a public-private partnership with American Campus Communities, the project includes a two-story, 54,000-sf academic building providing collaboration spaces, small group study rooms, a tutoring center, and seven technology-rich classrooms for interactive learning, one of which can accommodate 288 students.

Swansea University is planning to construct the £30 million Center for Integrative Semiconductor Materials in Wales in the United Kingdom. The three-story, 46,500-sf facility will house cleanrooms, labs, and offices to support the creation of advanced semiconductor materials, processes, and technologies. Located on the Bay Campus, the multidisciplinary project will integrate manufacturing, research, and development operations as well as offering business incubation and workforce development opportunities.

Kenyon College broke ground in July of 2019 on the West Quad complex in Gambier, Ohio. Designed by GUND Partnership, the project includes construction of Kenyon Commons, a collaborative library and learning facility that will feature two sandbox spaces for the exploration of innovative technologies and teaching methods.

The University of Illinois at Chicago is planning to build the $96 million Computing, Design, Research and Learning Center. Designed by Booth Hansen to support new instructional paradigms, the 168,000-sf facility will provide auditoria, lecture halls, dry research labs, interdisciplinary student design space, faculty and staff offices, and collaboration areas. The Department of Computer Science will be housed in the building, which will feature flexible classrooms comprised of modules that can be easily adapted to accommodate diverse class sizes and types.

The University of Manitoba opened the $44.5 million Smartpark Innovation Hub in Winnipeg in June of 2019. Designed by Cibinel Architecture to foster collaborative partnerships between industry, academia, and government, the 75,000-sf facility provides laboratories, prototyping suites, multimedia training classrooms, conference rooms, a business incubator, and rentable space for companies.

The University of Windsor celebrated the opening of the CAD$30 million Essex Centre of Research (CORe) in June of 2019 in Windsor, Ontario. Designed by NORR and Hariri Pontarini Architects, the 46,000-sf facility was constructed as an addition to Essex Hall and provides collaborative wet and dry laboratories for the study of advanced materials, transitional health, and medical physics.

Southwestern College dedicated the $85.6 million Math and Science Building in June of 2019 in Chula Vista, Calif. Designed by Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects to put science on display, the 132,708-gsf (99,747-nsf) facility features dedicated spaces for the school's new fermentation and drone science programs, as well as providing three large lecture halls, 15 laboratory classrooms, 19 standard classrooms, computer labs, study areas, administrative and faculty offices, collaboration areas, and a maker suite with a 3D printer.

The University of California, San Francisco opened the $275 million Precision Cancer Medicine Building (PCMB) in June of 2019. Located on UCSF's Mission Bay campus, the six-story facility consolidates outpatient services in a 170,000-sf structure with integrated cancer research labs, 63,000 sf of clinical space, 45 infusion bays, two accelerator vaults, and sophisticated imaging and diagnostic suites.

HITT Contracting opened the Co|Lab smart building research hub in June of 2019 in Falls Church, Va. Designed by William McDonough + Partners, Co|Lab is a collaborative facility for the study and testing of emerging materials, approaches, and technologies for the construction industry. The 8,600-sf project, which has attained LEED v4 Platinum certification, incorporates a Glu-lam and Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) structure, as well as a roof canopy solar array that is designed to provide 118 percent of anticipated energy use.

Hewlett Packard (HP) opened the 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence in June of 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. Supporting leading-edge research and development in additive manufacturing, the facility provides sophisticated research labs and instrumentation suites as well as a large-scale factory environment for active collaboration with customers and industry partners.

Northwestern University opened the $560 million Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center in Chicago in June of 2019. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 12-story, 625,000-sf facility provides the Feinberg School of Medicine with integrated laboratory neighborhoods for the study of cancer, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders.