The PDC Summit is just one month away! The three-day event from March 12-15 held in Orlando, Florida will feature cutting-edge topics that are affecting the future of the healthcare built environment and presents thought-provoking research and presentations focusing on cross-team collaboration, PDC sustainability, designing for future generations and technology integration. Payette’s own Alejandra Menchaca and Alison Laas will be presenting our research on natural ventilation in a healthcare setting.
Natural Ventilation of Patient Wards: Challenges and Opportunities
Natural ventilation has many proven benefits, including energy savings, improved indoor air quality, and occupant connection to the outdoors. European patient wards are typically conditioned using natural ventilation, but passive cooling strategy is rarely used in the United States. This session identifies relevant design and patient care issues and outlines safe and effective approaches for incorporating natural ventilation into the health care setting. Additionally, the results of a survey to U.S. health leaders will quantify the most critical challenges to natural ventilation.
Details:
Tuesday, March 14 | 4:10PM – 5:10PM
Speakers:
Alejandra Menchaca, Ph.D, LEED AP, Payette, Building Scientist
Alison Laas, AIA, LEED AP, Payette, Associate
Cape Cod Community College’s Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center is a net-positive energy building designed to transform the heart of campus.
The project approaches sustainability through a holistic and global approach, implementing a range of moves including passive solar shading overhangs, air-source heat pumps, high performance materials with low embodied carbon and the expansion of the range of thermal comfort and lighting power density. Combined with on-site photovoltaics, the project achieves net-positive energy use.
The project’s thermally modified wood rainscreen façade is a study of the modern expression of vernacular Cape Cod architecture while reducing embodied carbon. Early lifecycle assessments identified the immense carbon savings of wood over fiber cement. The design team did not stop there, furthering reductions by peeling back unnecessary finishes like carpet and ceilings. Together, these decisions enabled a 19% reduction in embodied carbon.
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