The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Jefferson Laboratories was awarded LEED Gold sustainable design certification in August of 2010. Designed by KlingStubbins, the facility was created by transforming a former chemical weapons arsenal building into the modern day research facility known as Building 50. Located in Jefferson, Ark., the seven-story tower was retrofitted to accommodate administrative, financial, and computer operations offices and support space. Existing structural framing of the building envelopes was modified for seismic and wind loads, and the windowless exterior walls were removed and replaced with more thermally efficient construction with windows for daylighting and views of the surrounding countryside. The building’s long narrow footprint is aligned in a north/south direction easily accommodating individual offices on either side of central core areas, open plan offices, and open break spaces across the full width of the building, where centralized core facilities do not exist. The full width open areas permit natural daylighting into the interior during most of the working day. Sustainable design features of the project include:
- More than 60% water use reduction through high-efficiency waterless fixtures
- Lighting power density reductions of more than 30% from ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1 2004
- Diversion of more than 50% of construction waste from landfill
- Use of nearly 40% of refurbished furniture and furnishings
- Recycled content of over 30% by cost of building materials
- More than 20% of building materials manufactured within 500 miles of the project site
- Low VOC materials for increased indoor air quality
- Daylighting to LEED standards for over 95% of occupied space
Although previous renovations to Building 50 were designed and implemented prior to LEED, the project team set forth a goal to achieve the Gold Rating in LEED Commercial Interiors to comply with the Department of Health and Human Services’ policy for Sustainable and High Performance Buildings.
