Designed by the American architecture, engineering, consulting, and construction firm HDR, the environmentally-friendly and advanced laboratory building is a 297,000 square feet facility, which controls environmental conditions to enable cutting-edge research with lasers, atomic clocks, and nanotechnology. It also offers facilities for mico-and nanofabrication of custom devices.
Constructed with sustainable designs and incorporating strict LEED standards, the building is environmentally stable. It has provisions for temperature control, ventilation exhaust and air cleanliness. The green thinking extends to construction, using an indoor air quality plan to ensure construction pollutants did not contaminate the building.
Designed with sustainable elements, the building has been developed with ample open space. Over seven acres of green space is provided on site, exceeding the city of Boulder’s requirements by more than 112%. For maintaining greenery and freshness of the area, 12 Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir trees have been transplanted.
The building is designed to use less than 111,000 MBtu per year, a 34% savings compared to the baseline of over 167,000 MBtu per year. Over 32% of the materials used on the project are comprised of recycled content; over 20% comes from regional sources (within 500 miles), including steel, concrete, and cement; and over 50% of the wood used on the project is certified and harvested sustainably.
For water reduction, local vegetation process has been implemented, which can reduce erosion and can be naturally irrigated by the Anderson Ditch running alongside the building. In addition, the building is estimated to reduce water use by over 40% using low-flow fixtures.
To maintain quality of the air, minimal chemical and gas releasing carpeting and flooring have been used. Low odour adhesives, sealants, and paints along with composite woods that do not contain added urea-formaldehyde have also been used to serve the purpose.
In order to reduce automobile use and control air pollution, 22 parking spaces are included for fuel-efficient vehicles and 22 parking spaces are set aside for carpool use. The building also features storage for 28 bicycles and four shower/changing areas.
The building is also well-equipped with efficient energy systems, which allow PML to save significant amounts of energy compared to the existing building standards. By using techniques such as spray foam insulation– wall insulation efficiency was doubled. Efficient lighting features reduce lighting energy use by 47%. Variable speed chillers reduce the energy needed to cool the building by 44%.
Whiting-Turner Construction Co. provided fit-up construction with the shell being constructed by Construction Services, Inc.
