Green tactics spotlighted at Labs21 The annual Labs21 conference, sponsored this year by the nonprofit International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories, drew more than 600 attendees to San Antonio Oct. 17-19 to discuss all things sustainable. An emphasis on power use beyond the usual HVAC themes was an obvious trend at this key lab design meeting. Among the hot topics: ideas for working toward an Energy Star-style rating system for lab equipment, and the creation of an initiative for compiling benchmark information on lab energy use. Both efforts have been spearheaded by the staff of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s High-Performance Buildings Team.
For more: www.labs21century.gov
and http://hightech.lbl.gov/labs.html.
MIT continues big science push The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, has already experienced a boom in science facilities in the past five years, including renovation of the historic Dreyfus Chemistry Building and construction of the landmark Stata Center and Brain and Cognitive Sciences projects. The Broad Institute, a cooperative 220,000-ft2 developer project involving MIT, Harvard, and local affiliated hospitals, opened earlier this year at 7 Cambridge Center adjacent to the campus. Science continues to be a theme in a recently announced $750 million MIT expansion program, which includes a 360,000-ft2 cancer research building in Kendall Square, set to break ground in 2009. Nanotech is predicted to be a key focus of this facility. A $120 million, 163,000-ft2 Media Lab building, designed by famed Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, will offer high-tech dry research space as well as new room for the School of Architecture and Planning. Also on tap are new buildings for the Sloan School of Management and a graduate student apartment complex.
For more: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/media-lab-building.html
and http://tinyurl.com/ld3tt.
Europeans endorse sustainable chemistry A public-private group in the European Union has released a proposed action plan involving sustainable chemistry, industrial biotechnology, and chemical engineering R&D and innovation in Europe. Formally named the “European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry,” or “SusChem,” the group calls better use of chemistry a “key driver” for innovation in multiple technologies and disciplines. The report addresses the need for more sustainable chemical use and processes in both research and manufacturing, and also covers renewable technologies including solar, wind, and biofuels.
For more, including free .pdf downloads of the platform documents:
www.suschem.org.
Princeton picks big-name architect Princeton Univ. has announced that José Rafael Moneo Arquitecto, Madrid, will create two new buildings for neuroscience and psychology on the Princeton, N.J., campus, totaling ~200,000 ft2. Davis Brody Bond of New York City will be the cooperating architect for the facilities, whose completion date has not been announced. The Moneo buildings will join a plethora of new high-profile buildings at Princeton, including Frank Gehry’s Lewis Science Library (due to open in 2007) and Hopkins Architects’ chemistry building (to be completed in 2010). Moneo was also the design architect of the Harvard Univ. Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering, which will open next spring.
For more:
http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/06/0910/1b.shtml.
Penn lab wins plaudits The Univ. of Pennyslvania, Philadelphia, has opened its new Skirkanich Hall bioengineering lab to the acclaim of architectural critics. Designed by New York “starchitects” Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the $42 million facility encompasses 58,000 ft2 of labs and support space, creating new possibilities for research in multiple bioengineering disciplines, including neural, orthopedic, and cardiovascular. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Inga Saffron says the lab is the city’s “best new
building in years.”
For more: http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15634179.htm.
Cal-OSHA revises fume hood regs California’s state-level Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has revised its regulations covering fume hoods, effective Aug. 30. A face velocity of 60 fpm (rather than the state’s previously mandated 100 fpm) will now be allowed when users are not in the immediate vicinity, provided airflow is controlled by an automatic system and ramped up to 100 fpm when a user is present. ANSI/ASHRAE 110-1995 testing is required as proof of hood performance in this scenario. In addition, fume hood monitors will become mandatory equipment for all fume hoods in the state effective Jan. 1, 2008.
9/11 anniversary prompts security analysis The recent commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks prompted a spate of media coverage regarding building design and construction techniques for preventing such events. Though bollards—waist-high posts—remain ubiquitous, creative firms are exploring less obvious systems, mostly aimed at stopping truck bombs. These include flowerbeds surrounded by low seat walls, moatlike water features, and special paving systems that crumble under the weight of approaching vehicular traffic. Some firms are even using bollards hidden inside landscaping, such as hedges. Also under analysis: HVAC design techniques for guarding against aerosol attacks, for which bollards and the like are completely ineffective.
For more: http://tinyurl.com/lsq2z
and http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/08/22/architecture/index.html.
Penn lab wins plaudits Though it may seem counterintuitive, states where property is at risk for mold contamination tend to be clustered in the dry West. The hazard ranking model developed by American Risk Management Resources, based on losses on insurance claims, puts Texas at the top of the hazard list, followed by Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Nevada, and Arizona. The coastal states may be no surprise, but problems in drier areas are attributed to tightly sealed facilities in states where air conditioning is used for a high percentage of the year. At the bottom of the list were the low-mold-hazard states of Wisconsin, West Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, and Minnesota
For more: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2006/07/10/70201.htm.
Billings take bumpy ride The American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Billings Index reflects a volatile market. Created in late 2005 as a predictor of construction activity, the tool is based on surveys of A/E firm principals and partners. Several months of sluggish conditions were reversed by a strong rebound in July and August, mostly involving growth in commercial/industrial architecture firms. Change orders are also on the rise, currently representing an average of about 4% of construction costs.
For more: http://www.aia.org/work_on_boards.
Sustainability to be codified outside LEED Three major construction-oriented groups have formed a joint committee to create a minimum standard for high-performance, sustainable buildings. Representatives of the U.S. Green Building Council; American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers; and Illuminating Engineering Society of America met in August to launch Standard 189P, intended as a minimum ASHRAE-type standard in the mold of the widely used Standard 90.1, “Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” USGBC president Rick Fedrizzi says 189P would function as a baseline, with the USGBC’s own LEED rating system continuing as a tool for the “top 25%” of building practices.
For more: http://www.ashrae.org/publications/detail/2667.
LBNL creates data center guide The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has created a dedicated website offering tools and information on saving money and promoting efficiency in data center design. High-performance data centers are increasingly important to lab facilities but often entail serious power challenges, with energy costs up to 100X greater than those of other building types.
For more: http://hightech.lbl.gov/DCTraining/top.html.
In related news, Ecos Consulting and EPRI Solutions recently released
information about pioneering data-center demonstrations at Sun
Microsystems, using DC power provided either as direct high-voltage
DC or converted from AC at the rack level and distributed directly
to servers. The HVAC savings from eliminating typical AC to DC
conversion methods are estimated at 10% compared with a baseline
case.
For a free PowerPoint download describing the project, also courtesy
of LBNL: http://hightech.lbl.gov/dc-powering/.
