Sustainability

BASF opened a $55 million research center in July of 2015 in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The 118,400-sf facility provides laboratories and offices for approximately 200 employees in the Advanced Materials & Systems Research division. The seven-story project is strategically sited between other research buildings to foster collaboration. The center, built using BASF’s innovative construction technologies, features high-performance insulation panels based on inorganic aerogel.

The Pennsylvania State University opened the $59 million Health and Human Development Building in University Park in July of 2015. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the 140,000-sf facility provides laboratories, classrooms, conference rooms, a student commons, faculty offices, and administrative space to support the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which includes 40,000 sf of renovated space in the former Henderson Building South.

Cornell Tech began building the Roosevelt Island campus in New York in June of 2015. The site plan for the $2 billion project was created by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and James Corner Field Operations. The sustainably designed campus represents a partnership between Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Cornell University. The 12-acre campus will feature the Bloomberg Center designed by Morphosis to be one of the largest net-zero buildings in the United States.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will begin construction in July of 2015 on a new research and development facility in Cambridge, Mass. Providing collaborative laboratories and offices for the creation of advanced biomedical and pharmaceutical products, the sustainably designed project comprises 208,000 sf of leased space in the Alexandria Center at Kendall Square development. Completion is expected in late 2017.

Montana State University is planning to build the $50 million Norm Asbjornson Innovation Center in Bozeman. Designed by ZGF Architects of Seattle and A&E Architects of Billings, the three-story facility will house classrooms, labs, offices, and a presentation hall. The laboratory programming and design consultant for the project is Research Facilities Design (RFD).

With three research floors and a prime location within the chemistry complex at Yale University, the 70,000-sf Kline Chemistry building has the highest lab and fume hood density on campus. In renovating the 50-year-old building, the mission was to modernize the lab space while significantly improving building efficiency. In addition to a new building envelope and HVAC systems, conservation strategies include more efficient fume hood use, reduced air changes and power watt densities, minimized outside air and reheat, occupancy controls, and hood proximity sensors. As a result of these efforts, the building is projected to achieve a 30 percent energy cost savings for LEED, and to consume 35 percent less energy than other Yale laboratories. When reductions in fume hood outdoor air demand are included, cost savings are projected to be up to $500,000 beyond those in a typical code-compliant laboratory in this climate zone.

London’s King’s College has tapped building information systems and financial data to maximize the use of space while reducing energy costs and carbon emissions by employing three strategies: leveraging shareable and flexible space, challenging assumptions about the need for individual offices, and having leaders set progressive examples for other staff. Efficiently planned and utilized spaces are inextricably linked with sustainability for growing academic institutions like King’s College, especially when the cost of property is expensive, according to architect and planner Ian Caldwell.

The University of Vermont broke ground on a $104 million STEM education complex in Burlington in May of 2015. Designed by Ellenzweig and Freeman French Freeman, the two-building, 266,000-sf facility will support programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The phased project will include construction of the Discovery Building, providing teaching and research labs, followed by the Innovation Building, which will house classrooms and meeting rooms. Lastly, the existing engineering facility will undergo a complete renovation.

The University of Virginia Medical Center is building a 46,000-sf education, imaging, and conference facility on its Charlottesville campus. Designed by CO Architects of Los Angeles in association with Train & Partners Architects, the $25 million Education Resource Center will physically connect the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center with the existing parking garage. The four-story facility will house simulation laboratories for medical training, diagnostic imaging suites, multipurpose learning spaces, and offices.

Humber College opened its Learning Resource Commons in Toronto in May of 2015. The six-story, 264,000-sf facility provides a new main entrance and gateway to the North Campus and connects to several existing buildings. The $84.2 million center provides a library, a gallery, study areas, student services, and administrative offices for the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The project was designed by B+H Architects and built by PCL Constructors Canada. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Northwestern University broke ground on the Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center in Chicago in May of 2015. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 14-story, 600,000-sf facility will support collaborative research on cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and genetics for the Feinberg School of Medicine. The Biomedical Research Center will house nine laboratory floors of approximately 45,000 sf each with integrated offices for principal investigators.

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.

Mount Wachusett Community College dedicated the $41 million Asquino Science Center in November of 2016 in Gardner, Mass. The project included construction of a 44,000-gsf addition providing classrooms, teaching labs, prep rooms, faculty offices, and study spaces to support programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and a 2,300-sf greenhouse.

Flexible room configurations, durable finishes and equipment, and highly sensitive airflow control and monitoring can extend the sustainable life of animal facilities and vivaria, where the research and biosecurity needs can change repeatedly over the course of several years. Detailed upfront planning and mockups of proposed spaces contribute to the long-term success and flexibility of these facilities.

Johns Hopkins University will lease 115,000 sf in a new laboratory building under construction in Baltimore. The $59 million, 170,000-sf facility is being built by Forest City Enterprises in partnership with East Baltimore Development Inc. and will feature advanced LED lighting systems installed by GB Energie LED and Revolution Lighting Technologies. Construction began on the project in November of 2014 and completion is expected in July of 2016.