Using an Integrated Team Approach as a Basis for Creating Sustainable and Dynamic Research Spaces
Tom Nelson, Mithun
The highly efficient University of California (UC) at Irvine Medical Education Building was designed as the result of a design competition, using sustainability as a basis for creating dynamic teaching and research spaces. Factoring in the evolving nature of research and the realities of operating and maintaining buildings today, countless design opportunities emerged. The winning design team aggressively pursued a design that was so operationally efficient that it could provide 23 percent more building without increasing the budget. This case study presentation will provide a description of the process, ideas, and outcome of the integrated design approach used to create an innovative and winning solution for UC Irvine's new medical teaching facility.
In this design competition, the owner sought the maximum value from quantity of space and quality of design. The team worked to develop a strategy to win the competition through maximizing value in terms of space and construction, operations, and maintenance costs. The team considered aspects of circulation and general climatic conditions, looking for opportunities to take advantage of natural ventilation and daylight, and incorporating plans to retain rainwater for stormwater mitigation. The team also looked carefully at the program and programmatic adjacency diagrams, maximizing the efficiency of spaces and shaping the floor plates into two distinct parts. The team used its site and climate analysis, stacking, and adjacency diagrams to develop several physical diagrams that addressed site, functional, operational, and image needs.
Biography:
Tom Nelson is a principal with Mithun in Seattle, and brings 25 years of experience in planning and designing major institutional projects, focusing primarily on scientific research laboratory and civic facility design. Mr. Nelson is a nationally recognized expert in sustainable design and deeply committed to creating innovative and responsible design solutions aimed at providing the highest quality scientific research spaces while minimizing the potential negative impact construction and building have on the environment. He serves as a board member of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, a Chapter of the USGBC, and as a member of the Chapter Steering Committee and is the Vice-Chair of the Pacific Regional Council of USGBC.