Sustainability

Glendale Community College will break ground in fall of 2013 on a 90,000-sf academic building in Glendale, Calif. A $34.6 million contract has been awarded to Mallcraft to build the three-story facility, which will provide classrooms and computer labs, as well as housing space for programs in culinary arts, anthropology, and writing. The total project cost is estimated at $40 million. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which is slated for occupancy in late 2015.

The University of Florida celebrated the opening of the $45 million Clinical and Translational Science Building in Gainesville in August of 2013. The collaborative 120,000-sf project houses the 40,000-sf UF Institute on Aging, the Clinical and Translational Research Institute, conference rooms, training facilities, research laboratories, and clinical space. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Hudson Valley Community College completed construction on its $40 million Science Center in August of 2013 in Troy, N.Y. The three-story, 100,000-sf facility provides two lecture halls, nine classrooms, faculty offices, a greenhouse, and 25 labs for biology, chemistry, and physics. General contractor U.W. Marx of Troy began construction on the center in October of 2011. Mosaic Associates of East Greenbush and Payette of Boston designed the building. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

The University of British Columbia has received LEED Gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council for the 172,000-sf Biological Sciences Complex renewal project in Vancouver. Designed by Aston Ostry Architects, the renovated facility provides advanced research space for the Departments of Botany and Zoology.

The University of Miami is building the 37,000-sf Neuroscience and Health Annex in Coral Gables, Fla. The interdisciplinary facility will enable scientists from the departments of biology and psychology to collaborate with researchers from the Miller School of Medicine. The three-story project is partially funded by $14.8 million in federal stimulus funding and will provide research labs, offices, a vivarium, and a human functional magnetic resonance imaging lab (HFMRI). LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Oak Ridge National Lab will dedicate the $20.5 million Maximum Building Energy Efficiency Research Laboratory (MAXLAB) in summer of 2013 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The 18,000-gsf facility was completed in early 2013 and provides research facilities for the development and testing of building components and systems. The project team included architect and construction administrator Cannon Design of St. Louis, civil engineer Fulghum MacIndoe & Associates, and landscape architect Hedstrom Design.

The 282,000-sf, five-story Energy Environment Experiential Learning (EEEL) building at the University of Calgary provides instructional space for expanded programs in energy and environment; new laboratories for biology, chemistry, and civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering; and space for faculty and staff. With its distinctive glass and aluminum exterior, EEEL creates an impressive front door to the community as the first major University building at the north campus entrance.

Jacksonville University began construction on the $8 million College of Health Sciences in July of 2013. Designed by Dasher Hurst Architects, the 30,000-sf facility will provide flexible classrooms for engaged learning to support progressive medical education pedagogies. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. Completion is expected in July of 2014.

The University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography opened the $26.5 million Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation and Modeling (MESOM) Laboratory in La Jolla in June of 2013. Accommodating 76 researchers and staff, the three-story, 40,100-sf facility provides 12 labs and 15 offices for the study of coastal ecosystems and climate change. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which features abundant natural light and a rooftop photovoltaic array.

Brigham and Women's Hospital broke ground in June of 2013 on the $450 million Brigham Building for the Future in Boston. The 620,000-sf, 11-story translational facility will provide advanced laboratories, clinical space, and a subterranean imaging center to support the integration of research with patient care. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will feature a cogeneration plant and a storm water recycling system. Completion is expected in fall of 2016.

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has released EnergyIQ, a free, Web-based energy benchmarking platform. The tool enables facility managers to compare energy end-use scores for individual building systems, predict return-on-investment for retrofit projects, and identify potential actions for improvement . EnergyIQ can be integrated with a variety of other platforms. The database currently includes facilities from the the U.S. Department of Energy Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey and the California Commercial End-Use Survey.

Michigan State University broke ground in June of 2013 on the $60.8 million Bio Engineering Facility in East Lansing. The 130,000-sf interdisciplinary building will provide modular open-plan laboratories and offices for faculty from the colleges of Engineering, Human Medicine, and Natural Science.

Renovating facilities using sustainable design can be an economically feasible means of making older buildings relevant again. Elements such as passive ventilation and natural lighting reduce utility bills by more than 75 percent and increase the appraised property value, with the potential to achieve net-zero energy consumption and a 10-year return on investment.

Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis is planning to break ground on a $75 million research building in summer of 2013. The 138,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide flexible, open labs for the Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology and the departments of medicine, genetics, and developmental biology. The design team includes Goody Clancy of Boston in association with Christner of St. Louis. Clayco is the general contractor. Completion is expected in June of 2015.

The Department of Energy opened the $135 million Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) in June of 2013. Located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., the 182,500-sf facility provides 15 labs and four outdoor test sites for electrical grid integration research. The center features a petascale supercomputer for advanced modeling and simulation as well as a hardware-in-the-loop system for product testing.