Sustainability
No labs on EPA’s Energy Star winners list
April 29, 2013 12:39 pm | News | CommentsThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winner of its third-annual Energy Star National Building Competition. More than 3,000 schools, businesses, and government buildings across the country competed to see which could reduce its energy use the most in one year—and a New Jersey elementary school emerged victorious.
Experts propose research priorities for making concrete ‘greener’
April 16, 2013 3:50 pm | News | CommentsThe challenge of making concrete greener—reducing its sizable carbon footprint without compromising performance—is just like the world's most ubiquitous manufactured material—hard! But, according to a new report from NIST, the potential engineering performance, energy efficiency, and environmental benefits make it a challenge worth tackling.
Review of 500,000 DOD structures shows potential as building performance database
April 16, 2013 3:44 pm | News | CommentsNew recommendations by a National Research Council (NRC) expert panel on green and sustainable building performance could lead to a revolution in building science by creating the first large building performance database, says panel member Paul Fisette, a nationally recognized sustainable building expert at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Iowa College of Public Health building earns LEED Platinum
April 16, 2013 3:39 pm | News | CommentsThe College of Public Health Building at the University of Iowa has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest standard for green design. It is the first academic building on Iowa’s campus to earn the designation.
Laboratory Design Newsletter April Issue Milestones
April 5, 2013 12:13 pm | News | CommentsLord, Aeck & Sargent has promoted Lauren Dunn Rockart, AIA, LEED AP to Principal. Rockart has 19 years of experience specializing in management, design direction, and decision-making for higher education projects, including residence halls, academic facilities, and research laboratories.
2013 R&D 100 Awards: Entry deadline extended
April 1, 2013 12:51 pm | News | CommentsThe editors of R&D Magazine have announced an extension to the entry submission deadline for the annual R&D 100 Awards competition. The final day for sending in your entry is April 30, 2013. The new deadline gives participants extra time to complete their entry form.
Registration for free ASHRAE Webcast now open
April 1, 2013 12:48 pm | News | CommentsRegistration is now open for the 2013 free ASHRAE Webcast, "Assessing Building Energy Performance—From Principles to Practice." The Webcast will be held Thursday, April 18 from 1-4 PM EDT. Speakers will address the importance of building energy performance and its far-reaching implications in both new and existing buildings, as well as the opportunities that assessing building energy performance presents.
FLEXLAB will benchmark energy performance of building components
April 1, 2013 12:45 pm | News | CommentsConstruction continues at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Facility for Low-Energy eXperiments on Buildings (FLEXLAB). Groundbreaking took place in December marking what LBNL called, "… a new era for research on energy-efficient buildings."
Bigelow Lab for Ocean Science achieves LEED Platinum
April 1, 2013 12:41 pm | News | CommentsBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, which opened a 60,000 ft2 science and education campus on the East Boothbay waterfront in December 2012, has achieved confirmation of LEED Platinum status. The campus consists of three interconnected science and education buildings, along with a shorefront facility and dock.
Sunoptics receives Green Leadership Award
April 1, 2013 12:36 pm | News | CommentsSunoptics, a leader in high-performance prismatic daylighting solutions, received a Green Leadership Award for its energy-efficient daylighting solutions from the Sacramento Business Journal. The Green Leadership Awards recognize the region's people, companies, and organizations that are developing and implementing the most transformative green technologies, products, and services.
I2SL call for papers ends March 22nd
March 15, 2013 4:31 pm | News | CommentsThe 2013 I2SL Annual Conference call for abstracts is now open, and all members of the sustainable laboratory and high-tech facility community are encouraged to submit, whether a veteran presenter or new to the industry.
Free trial of LEED tracking software until April 15th
March 15, 2013 4:22 pm | News | CommentsUntil April 15th, GreenWizard, a LEED automation partner, offers a free trial of WORKflow Pro, an online, collaborative tool that helps design and construction professionals track progress against green certification goals. WORKflow Pro can be used by building owners, architects, specifiers, engineers, and contractors at any phase of the building project.
Green tools, tips, and hints for lab designers
February 27, 2013 7:31 pm | News | CommentsThe Laboratory Safety Institute and Erlab Inc. have come together to present the 2013 Safe Labs can be Green Labs Conference on Thursday, April 11, 2013 at the JW Marriott, Houston, TX. This day-long workshop, given by experts in lab safety, lab ventilation, filtration and lab design, will explore green trends and safety issues-- and how the two really can co-exist in the same lab.
Google to build largest radiant heat office complex
February 26, 2013 1:39 pm | News | CommentsScheduled for a 2015 completion date, the Silicon Valley complex will allow the majority of employees to work by natural light, without any glare from the sun. Most of the buildings will be four stories tall and shaped like bent rectangles.
NIST brings BIRDS and BEES together
February 25, 2013 2:54 pm | News | CommentsNIST has announced database and software tools that will debut in late 2013. BIRDS(Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability) will be a free, Web-based tool kit to further research, design, and planning efforts focused on building energy use and technologies to improve energy efficiency.
Lab Design Conference Room Discount Ends Soon
February 22, 2013 3:08 pm | News | CommentsThe annual Laboratory Design Conference will be held April 8-10, 2013 at the JW Marriott Houston. The discounted room block rate ends March 15, 2013. Attendees and those who are considering attending are encouraged to make a reservation today to ensure accomodations at the conference rate.
Super Bowl blackout shines spotlight on smart grid technologies
February 19, 2013 12:31 pm | News | CommentsThe 34-minute delay during Super Bowl XLVII was explained by energy provider Entergy New Orleans as the result of sensors detecting "an abnormality in the system." While they continue to investigate the root cause, the issue of reliable and efficient electrical technologies has reached the populace.
Stricter energy standards don't raise construction costs
February 19, 2013 12:21 pm | News | CommentsFindings of a new study released by NIST showed that meeting higher energy-efficiency standards does "not increase total construction and future operation costs for new commercial buildings." The focus of the study was state adoption of standards for low-energy-use building designs.
NIST Precision Measurement Laboratory achieves LEED Gold
February 19, 2013 12:16 pm | News | CommentsOpened in the spring of 2012, the NIST Precision Measurement Lab received LEED Gold certification less than nine months later. The 297,000 square-foot, environmentally friendly and advanced laboratory building tightly controls environmental conditions to enable cutting-edge research with lasers, atomic clocks, and nanotechnology, and also has facilities for micro- and nanofabrication of custom devices.
Surprising breakthrough could bolster lighting devices, solar cell efficiency
February 19, 2013 12:07 pm | News | CommentsScientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and other laboratories have demonstrated a process whereby quantum dots can self-assemble at optimal locations in nanowires, a breakthrough that could improve solar cells and lighting devices.
Agensys, Santa Monica, Calif.
February 19, 2013 11:45 am | News | CommentsMulti-building campus consolidated four different sites throughout the city of Santa Monica into one research campus. The new facility consists of flexible research laboratories, support spaces, manufacturing research, GMP facility, pilot plant, central plant, administrative offices, fitness center, public café, sculpture garden, and conferencing center.
Bridgestone project helps client achieve green goals
February 8, 2013 11:35 am | by Matthew Sutter, AIA, RA, LEED AP | Articles | CommentsHow do you show your company’s commitment to the environment while attracting the world’s best and brightest technical minds? Bridgestone decided to build a new, green, state-of-the-art Technical Center in the middle of its existing Ohio campus.
February 2013 Laboratory Design Newsletter Issue Info Resources
February 8, 2013 10:47 am | News | Comments“Tracking the Sun,” an annual PV cost-tracking report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, indicates that the median installed price of residential and commercial photovoltaic systems completed in 2011 fell by 11 to 14% from the year before, and (in California) prices dropped an additional 3 to 7% during the first six months of 2012.
Old buildings can be greener than new
January 23, 2013 9:00 am | News | CommentsIn a report that may seem counterintuitive, New York City has revealed that some of its old buildings are more energy efficient than new, LEED-certified ones. A law passed in 2009 requires private-building owners to report a variety of sustainability data.
Technological innovation sets world PV record
January 23, 2013 8:56 am | News | CommentsA new solar cell developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo., represents a breakthrough in photovoltaic efficiency. The cell "outsmarts the solar spectrum" with a record 44% efficiency at 947 suns, and was recently recognized with a coveted R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine.
