Sustainable Strategies to Save a Building

Earlier this month we presented The Sustainability Advantage for Facility Design, Infrastructure, and Operations Costs at the Tradeline: Research Facilities Conference in Boston. Focused on the big cost-saving opportunities that sustainability offers for research facility design and construction. The discussion emphasized when sustainability is as a main, integrated project driver and spaces are designed holistically that helps the project reap the benefits of a higher-value, better-performing science building in the long term without necessarily adding additional first cost to the project.

One example of an energy efficiency strategy discussed, chilled beams, can allow for lower air volumes because the cooling load is decoupled from the ventilation requirements. Furthermore, this allows for smaller ductwork in the project which can lead to smaller air handling equipment, lower floor-to-floor heights, allowing the building to save both energy and capital costs. Another example discussed included the task/ambient light approach used in the Harvard University Sherman Fairchild renovation, which contributed towards the project ability to fit into a very tight lower floor-to-floor height and reducing operational energy. Following our presentation, we had a lively audience  discussion on a range of topics including how these strategies allow buildings that would conventionally be deemed unable to support a research lab, like an office building, to could become a viable lab space. This is relevant in a city like Boston, which is short on commercial lab space and building new lab buildings in Kendall Square and South Boston’s Innovation District, while existing infrastructure designed for office use in areas like the Financial District have relatively high vacancy rates.

 A few of the other strategies discussed:

Related:
AIA Upjohn Research Grant
Thermal Imaging Update
Sherman Fairchild Renovation