Fighting Crime with Design: How Sustainable Design Enhanced the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory

David Gibney, LEED^® AP, HDR, Inc.
John McDonald, P.E., Affiliated Engineers, Inc.

Forensic laboratories are among the most mission critical facilities designed. Evidence from forensic investigations can exonerate the accused or send them to death row. These facilities must support very diverse analysis while designed, constructed, and operated with limited funding.

The Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory is a leading example of how the sustainable design process can yield a well integrated, elegant and cost-effective facility. Currently under construction, this 90,000 gross-square-foot facility will support the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office mission to prosecute criminals with the latest forensic materials and methods. The laboratory will support the following forensic analysis:

• Ballistics firearms and tool marks
• Digital media
• DNA
• Narcotics/chemicals
• Fingerprints
• Automotive bays

The Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory used established metric-based design guides to optimize performance. While designing this LEED registered project (seeking Gold certification), the team used the Labs21 Approach to promote energy and water conservation and to improve life safety. The design team also participated in the Savings by Design program, an energy optimization incentive program funded by California utilities. Using energy modeling with life cycle analysis, the designers reduced power demand by more than 40 percent. Process loads were evaluated for energy use and accordingly the project will implement a fume hood commissioning plan. To reduce water demand both irrigation and all flush fixtures are supplied with reclaimed water. In addition, low-flow fixtures reduce potable water demand by more than 30 percent.

To promote a whole-building, life-cycle approach, the facility is being built with recycled content building materials that will be 95 to 100 percent recyclable when the building is deconstructed in the future. Construction waste diversion during construction is currently at 99.6 percent. For occupant well-being, all finishes are eco-friendly. Zero or low volatile organic compound and/or formaldehyde paints, carpets, and adhesives/sealants are used throughout the building. In addition, occupants are provided with several alternatives to automobile commuting.

The aim of this case study is to allow attendees to:

1. Become familiar with the unique design challenges of forensic laboratories.
2. Understand how sustainable design enhances diverse forensic laboratory operations.
3. Understand the system concepts and device selections utilized to achieve the noted energy and water conservation levels.
4. Understand the contractual language (specifications and drawings) used that has allowed for the achievements in recycling and reuse.
5. Observe how including a utility energy conservation program early during the design process can offer life-long value to a laboratory facility.
6. Understand how Labs21 enhances the design process.
   

Biographies:

David Gibney, LEED AP, is a sustainable design project manager for HDR. Since joining HDR in 2000, Mr. Gibney has provided sustainable design consultation to several United States federal agencies including the General Services Administration, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy. His state agency experience at HDR includes the California Department of General Services, the State of Washington Department of Corrections, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. A LEED Accredited Professional since 2001, his project experience administering LEED surpasses $400 million in construction cost.

Mr. Gibney has developed multiple sustainable design training materials for public and private clients. He has also delivered presentations focused on sustainable design at numerous national and regional building design and construction conferences.

John McDonald is a principal with Affiliated Engineers, Inc., and also the group leader for research and development facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area office. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology – HVAC. In his 20 years of mechanical engineering, Mr. McDonald has focused his expertise in laboratory and research facilities. Recent projects that John has led include a 185,000-square-foot biology and chemistry laboratory with a 56,000-square-foot multi-species vivarium; an 85,700-square-foot multi-species vivarium for the University of California at San Francisco; the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory; and projects for Allergan, Alza, and Schering Plough Biopharma.

Back to Agenda