The Energy Laboratory is designed Boston’s Flansburgh Architects while sustainability and energy consulting for the project was provided by Buro Happold.
The lab, located in Kamuela, Hawaii incorporates a net-zero water system that ensures that no external water supplies are required to run the building. The facility is energy-neutral featuring integrated sustainable systems including passive solar design, natural daylight optimization, high-efficiency systems, along with renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. The lab produced more than double the electricity it used in its first year of operation with the surplus being utilised on the remaining campus.
The effective placement and size of windows and louvers (vents) for the provision of optimal natural ventilation on the 2,500 feet leeward mountain was calculated using computational fluid dynamics. The procedure ensured that installed fans and air conditioning units were not used during the first year of operation.
The lab was inaugurated in January 2010 and is the third building in the world to have won the Living status. Requirements needed to qualify for Living status include net zero water, net zero energy, and the exclusion of Red List materials, such as PVC, formaldehyde and other chemicals and materials considered harmful.
