Greener Laboratories for Fewer Greenbacks
Mark Reed, Tsoi/Kobus & Associates
Stephen Oppenheimer, AIA, LEED® AP, Tsoi/Kobus & Associates
Do LEED-certified buildings really cost more than non-LEED buildings? While studies have indicated overall cost premiums for some LEED projects, no one has broken it down credit-by-credit and strategy by strategy—until now.
Tsoi/Kobus & Associates (TK&A) has joined with AHA Consulting Engineers and Vermeulens Cost Consultants to provide clients and designers with a first-of-its-kind tool for evaluating sustainable design strategies based on its relative costs. The findings reveal that highly sustainable buildings can have lower construction costs than conventionally designed buildings—provided that the right credit synergies are uncovered.
This approach can be especially effective in laboratory buildings. When an integrative design process is used, LEED credits can be strategically combined to substantially reduce construction cost, not just operating costs. Savings can be even greater when Labs21 Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC) guidelines are incorporated.
In this session we will demonstrate:
- A new tool for evaluating the cost of LEED features credit-by-credit
- Possible synergies within LEED 3.0
- Powerful new synergies between Labs21 EPC and LEED 3.0
- Potential cost/square foot savings of Labs21 EPC guidelines
- Models for an integrative design process that maximizes sustainability and cost savings
Attendees will leave the session with resources to calculate the cost implications of LEED and Labs21 EPC on their projects and will come away with a better understanding of the importance of synergies that can be discovered through an integrative design process.
Biographies:
Mark Reed, a principal of Tsoi/Kobus & Associates (TK&A), has gained national recognition for the strategic planning and design of highly complex and technically challenging physical science and engineering facilities. His experience includes projects and planning at the nation's leading research institutions such as Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Chicago, Ohio State University, Rutgers University, Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Tulane University. Mr. Reed leads TK&A's science and technology practice and is working on numerous life sciences projects within Cambridge and Boston. With more than 19 years of experience, Mr. Reed has received recognition for his innovative designs, including an Award for Design Excellence from Princeton University and an Award of Merit from AIA New England. He is a frequent presenter at conferences around the country hosted by such organizations as Tradeline, the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Laboratory Design, Labs21, and the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers.
Stephen Oppenheimer, AIA, LEED AP, is an associate and project manager with Tsoi/Kobus & Associates (TK&A). He has more than 25 years of experience that includes academic, health care, research and development, and commercial projects for Harvard University, Washington University in St. Louis, Children's Hospital Boston, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston Properties, and Parametric Technology Corporation. He was the project manager for TK&A's first LEED-certified project, the Earth and Planetary Sciences building at Washington University, completed in 2004. He was also the project manager for the first LEED-CS office building in Boston's suburbs, completed in 2008 for Boston Properties and achieving LEED Gold certification. Mr. Oppenheimer is co-founder of TK&A's Core Values Group, which is focused on developing a customized integrative design process, raising the firm's level of sustainable design expertise, and advancing design through leadership in research.