Sustainability

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced the release in November of 2013 of seven new Sustainable Projects (SP) contract documents. The release includes SP versions of the AIA’s two families of Construction Management documents, Construction Manager as Adviser (CMa) and Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc), as well as B103–2007 SP, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect for a Large or Complex Sustainable Project.

The New York City College of Technology broke ground on a 365,000-sf academic complex in October of 2013. The eight-story facility will provide laboratories, classrooms, faculty offices, clinics, and support spaces to enhance the College’s health and science curriculum in radiology, dental hygiene, nursing, biological sciences, biomedical research, chemistry, restorative dentistry, and vision care.

The University of Nottingham began construction in October of 2013 on the $32 million Centre for Sustainable Chemistry in the United Kingdom. Designed by Fairhursts Design Group and created in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline, the 48,000-sf carbon-neutral building will provide research labs, a teaching lab, and instrumentation suites. The facility will be located in the University's Innovation Park and will accommodate 100 investigators.

Vassar College is constructing the $125 million Integrated Science Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The project includes a new 80,000-sf teaching and research building designed by Ennead Architects that will bridge a ravine. Three existing facilities will also be renovated. Supporting programs in earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics, the Integrated Science Center will feature the collaborative Earth and Environment Lab housing two faculty research labs, a shared teaching lab, a cleanroom, a coldroom, and a student-faculty joint use lab.

Samsung Research America broke ground in October of 2013 on its new research and development campus in Mountain View, Calif. The 385,000-sf project includes two six-story office buildings and will be constructed to attain a minimum of LEED Gold sustainable design certification. Occupancy is expected in December of 2014. Samsung Research America is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Rowan University broke ground in October of 2013 on a $71 million addition to the College of Engineering in Glassboro, N.J. The three-story, 90,500-sf building is slated for completion in 2017.

Drexel University opened the $92 million LeBow Hall in Philadelphia in October of 2013. Housing the LeBow College of Business, the 12-story, 177,500-sf facility features a five-story atrium, a 300-seat auditorium, a 100-seat lecture hall, and a financial trading lab. The building also provides 17 classrooms, faculty offices, student lounges, a seminar room, and a behavioral studies lab. The facility was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York and Voith & MacTavish Architects of Philadelphia.

The following is a condensed transcript of a panel discussion from Tradeline’s 2013 International Conference on Research Facilities. The panelists are William Gustafson, principal at Ballinger; Steven Frei, principal at Affiliated Engineers, and Michael Reagan, vice president of Stantec. The moderator is Steve Westfall, founder and CEO of Tradeline.

The Karolinksa Institute will begin construction in late 2013 on the $190 million Biomedicum research facility in Solna, Sweden. The project team includes developer Akademiska Hus, Berg/C.F. Møller Architects, and general contractor Skanska. Providing open, flexible labs for biomedical research, the 678,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will also house offices, conference rooms, and a large central atrium.

Cedars-Sinai Health System opened the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion in Los Angeles in summer of 2013. Integrating world-class patient care with medical research and teaching, the 11-story, 820,000-sf facility provides translational labs in close proximity to clinical settings. The pavilion was designed by HOK and houses the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, the neurosciences program, the Regenerative Medicine Institute, an education center with advanced simulation labs, and two floors of procedural space.

Georgia Tech’s Carbon-Neutral Energy Solutions (C-NES) building sets a new standard for sustainable design for buildings of its type by optimizing passive energy technologies, reducing energy demand, and maximizing the use of renewable energy: A prototype living, learning laboratory that offers lessons for future net-zero attempts. Net-zero energy defies the historical reality that laboratories can consume 10 times the energy of a typical office building, and one six-foot fume hood consumes as much energy annually as a 2,500-sf home.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School is initiating an energy retrofit of the Lazare Medical Research Facility in Worcester. Airside solutions provider Aircuity will install demand control ventilation (DCV) systems on a total of nine floors, including eight floors of laboratory space and a vivarium level, to provide significant cost savings and optimal indoor air quality. The retrofit is expected to reach completion in spring of 2014.

The Hospital for Sick Children opened the $400 million Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning in Toronto in September of 2013. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and built by EllisDon, the 21-story, 750,000-sf tower features advanced laboratories, learning facilities, and interaction spaces to support collaborative biomedical research.

The University of Delaware will officially open the Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering (ISE) Laboratory in Newark in October of 2013. Designed by Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects, the four-story, 194,000-gsf facility provides eight general instruction classrooms and four problem-based instructional areas with adjoining labs to support interactive learning. The research wing features a 10,000-sf nanofabrication facility, a synthesis lab, an advanced materials characterization lab, and an imaging and microscopy suite.

Richard Stockton College opened the $39.5 million United Sciences Center in September of 2013 in Galloway Township, N.J. The 66,350-sf facility provides technology-rich laboratories, classrooms, lecture halls, conference rooms, and computer labs. The sustainably designed building utilizes Richard Stockton College's existing geothermal heating and cooling system. The project team included EYP Architecture and Engineering, construction manager Bovis Lend Lease, and general contractor Dobco Group.