Sustainability

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.

The 55,000-sf James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences at Eckerd College houses biology, chemistry, and biochemistry departments under one roof for the first time, with biology and chemistry offices interspersed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The building contains nine 24-student teaching labs, two classrooms, four faculty-student research spaces, and 14 faculty offices.

Pharmaceutical products manufacturer Bath ASU is expanding their existing campus in the United Kingdom with the construction of a 21,500-sf production plant in Corsham. Designed by Pegasus, the project will triple available cleanroom space and is being built by John Yerbury Property Developments using Kingspan Micro-Rib insulated metal wall panels. Completion is expected by June of 2015.

Ramapo College is building the Adler Center for Nursing Excellence in Mahwah, N.J. Designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, the 36,000-sf facility will feature three simulation rooms, a nursing skills lab, an anatomy and physiology lab, classrooms, and computer labs. The project is part of a $54 million renovation of Ramapo College's science center and is being built by Cambridge Construction Management to attain LEED Silver sustainable design certification.

Ohio State University celebrated the opening of the $126 million Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building (CBEC) in Columbus in April of 2015. The two-building, 235,000-sf project includes a four-story teaching and research building physically connected to a six-story office and research building. The LEED-certified complex features wet research labs with ancillary support, computational research suites, shared core labs, instructional spaces, and offices for faculty, graduate students, and administration.

The College of Lake County broke ground in March of 2015 on the $28.3 million Science and Engineering Building in Grayslake, Ill. The project includes construction of a three-story, 41,900-sf facility housing four laser and photonics labs, five chemistry labs, and an engineering lab. Additionally, 25,000 sf of existing space will be renovated to create labs for biology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology.

Apple is planning to build a four-story, 269,000-sf research and development facility in Yokohama, Japan. Constructed on the site of a former Panasonic factory in Tsunashima-higashi, the sustainably designed project will feature highly efficient building systems, water recycling technologies, and a green roof. Construction is expected to commence by the end of 2015 with completion in 2016.