Operating Cost

Key questions asked during the planning process can drive the design of new and renovated research facilities, creating a high-performance, sustainable building with predictable operating costs. Questions from the building owner and stakeholders should focus on upfront costs, energy efficiency, long-term savings, safety, potential risks, construction materials, carbon reduction, zero waste, and performance vs. sustainability. For example: What energy efficiency measures should be explored? What safety strategies will have the most impact? What would it take to create a net zero lab?

The nation’s academic biomedical research facilities are largely unprepared for natural and man-made disasters that could damage buildings, equipment, IT systems, and materials, and ultimately jeopardize research and scientific careers. A recently released study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for institutions and scientists to focus on risk assessment and resilience planning to secure their capital and research investments. In order to do that successfully, institutions need to expand their emergency response and recovery plans and think beyond current building codes, which focus on the life safety needs of the occupants but have yet to account for the significant risks posed to their research programs.

The University of Virginia has reduced the annual operating cost of Clark Hall by $1.2 million by optimizing the facility's energy performance. Located in Charlottesville, Clark Hall originally opened in 1932 and houses the Department of Environmental Sciences and the Charles L. Brown Science & Engineering Library. A team of UVA engineers, technicians, and specialists called Delta Force reviewed and retrofitted the building's systems and equipment to create a 67 percent savings on annual energy costs.

The College of Engineering, one of 15 colleges and schools at Cornell University, has 21 percent of the undergraduate population, 32 percent of the graduate population, and 10 percent of the square footage of the campus. As part of the college master plan, Upson Hall, originally built in the 1950s, and one of the largest buildings on the engineering quad, was in line for modernization. The plan called for improving energy efficiency, providing student and faculty collaborative space, and creating wet, hybrid, nano-, bio-, and chemical engineering labs. Since the building is well-located and structurally sound, with good floor-to-floor heights for labs, the decision was to renovate the existing structure, rather than undertake new construction. The project, a complete gut and renovation of the 160,000-gsf building, scheduled in two approximately year-long phases, was completed in August 2017.

London Health Sciences Centre is utilizing Honeywell Vector Space Sense to optimize facility utilization and reduce operational costs. The software solution shows where, when, and how spaces are being used at any given point in time, enabling the operations team to make informed real estate and space allocation decisions. London Health Sciences Centre is a hospital network in Ontario with 15,000 employees occupying 1.9 million square feet.

Kewaunee Scientific has partnered with international design studio Rainlight to create the CODA laboratory furniture benching system. CODA’s modular design offers adjustable height surfaces, moveable shelving, and integrated lighting, with companion tables available to complement the main system. With spans of up to 10 feet long between structural supports, CODA’s bench enables greater flexibility for lab layout.

Bentley University has been awarded LEED Platinum sustainable design certification for the $45 million Bentley Arena in Waltham, Mass. Designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge, the 76,000-sf project is the only standalone ice arena in the nation to have attained LEED Platinum. The multipurpose facility includes a glass-walled function room, a sports medicine center, state-of-the-art locker rooms, strength and conditioning suites, and a student-run media control room.

Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has mandated that Building Information Modeling (BIM) be implemented in the final phase of its $9 billion construction program. LACCD, which is the largest community college district in the United States and comprises nine colleges, is also targeting net-zero energy consumption in the sustainable development of its extensive portfolio.

The American National Standards Institute published APPA 1000-1 in January of 2018, creating the first national standard for Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in the United States. The standard identifies and defines the foundational elements and the structure required to implement TCO principles for facilities. It is essential that the entire cost of purchasing and owning a building through its lifetime is understood by all stakeholders, especially before finalizing design plans for new construction.

In the concluding Open Forum/Town Hall session of Tradeline’s Facility Strategies for Animal Research and Biocontainment conference, moderator Derek Westfall, president of Tradeline, and subject matter commentators, Mark Corey with Flad Architects and Tiffini Lovelace with EYP Architecture & Engineering, led a knowledge exchange on questions posed by conference attendees. This is an edited transcript of that exchange.

Swarthmore College is constructing the $120 million Biology, Engineering, and Psychology Building in Swarthmore, Pa. Designed by Ballinger, the 160,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will feature flexible classrooms, labs, and common spaces to support enhanced pedagogical experiences linked to environmental sustainability. The project will be developed according to Swarthmore’s Environmental Sustainability Framework, a standard equivalent to LEED Platinum, with some elements exceeding LEED Platinum criteria.

Pfizer’s pharmaceutical factory in Dalian, China, has attained LEED-NC Platinum sustainable design certification. The project, which involved a 140,000-sf expansion to accommodate an aseptic workshop for cephalosporin products, began construction in 2014 and reached completion in April of 2017.  As the chosen strategic partner for the project, Johnson Controls was involved throughout the design and construction process and provided building controls systems and lifecycle green building certification consulting services.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a widely used buzzword that refers to a rapidly growing network of internet-connected devices and sensors that transmit data back to a central repository for rapid analysis. This network generates massive amounts of information that can be used to maximize energy efficiency, optimize space use, reduce costs, and increase operational visibility across all types of facilities and organizations. LED lights with sensors, smart grid meters, intelligent HVAC and security systems, even mobile and body-worn devices, all generate tremendous amounts of data that both humans and computers can use to make better decisions.

NASA awarded AECOM a contract in September of 2017 to provide support services for Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The scope of the contract, which has a maximum value of $58.3 million and a one-year base period with four one-year options, includes facility master planning, facility engineering design, energy and water conservation program management, and property utilization oversight. 

There are positive signs that funding for scientific research will not only be maintained, but will once again increase. Earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved $36.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health for the upcoming fiscal year. If approved intact, it will mark the third consecutive year that the NIH receives a $2 billion increase. The House Appropriations Committee already approved a $1.1 billion increase.