Challenging Basics—Air, Water, and Light in the Laboratory

Bill Starr, University of California at Davis
Lynn Filar, Hellmuth Obata + Kassabaum

Using the University of California at Davis Veterinary Medicine 3B project, this presentation will explore the challenges in effectively providing the three primary elements of air, water, and light to the occupants of a university research laboratory while maintaining high environmental quality and energy efficiency goals.

In this project, integrated analysis of minimum air change rate, equipment plug loads, fume hood quantities and adaptability requirements for future changes generated an extremely energy efficient, economical, and adaptable mechanical design that incorporated active chilled beams with air supply cascading from the open labs to the fume hood alcoves. Simple zoning, modular mechanical design, and careful detailing brought the system cost to below that of a typical VAV lab system. Other ventilation and cooling demand reduction measures included liquid cooling for freezers in dense equipment spaces and individually ventilated cage racks in the vivarium. In the office and meeting areas, the building is designed to operate in a mixed mode configuration combining user-controlled operable windows and 100 percent outside ventilation air delivered through a user-adjustable displacement diffuser to enhance user comfort and lower fan energy. In addition, the centrally located four-story stair tower was designed as a natural ventilation assist, drawing air out of the adjacent open office areas and the ground floor lobby and up through the tower using the natural stack effect. Thermostat-activated, mechanically operated louvered windows in the ground floor lobby and the top of the stair tower open and close based on outdoor and indoor temperature differences. A wind tunnel study was employed to determine the ventilation effectiveness of the stair tower, and to see if the air foil on the top of the stair tower would enhance the air flow.

Additionally, collecting quantity and composition information on wastewater streams in a laboratory often reveals opportunities for selective capture and reuse. In this project, potential sources such as rainwater, reverse osmosis flush water, condensate water from air handlers, and fish tank waste water were explored for potential reuse in landscape irrigation.

Conceptualizing of the lab space itself as a light fixture required the exploration of window aperture size, building configuration at the exterior wall and window juncture, glazing, interior finishes, exterior sun control devices to reduce direct beam penetration, and artificial lighting all in concert. The design team used a combination of physical and computer modeling to explore solar control, daylight levels, glare under varying light, and seasonal conditions.

Biographies:

Bill Starr is a Senior Architect and Project Manager at the University of California at Davis. Bill managed the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences laboratory building and is currently managing the Veterinary Medicine 3B Laboratory Building. The Tahoe Center was recently awarded LEED® Platinum certification and 3B is targeting LEED Gold.

Lynn Filar is a Senior Vice President with HOK and the Project Architect for the University of California at Davis Veterinary Medicine 3B project. She was the Project Architect on the San Mateo County Forensic Laboratory which has won several environmental design awards in including the AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green Projects award.

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