Opposites Attract: Campus Net Zero Campaign and Energy Consuming Engineering Building, a Case Study of University of California, Merced's, Science and Engineering 2 Building
Irene Monis, AIA, LEED AP®, SmithGroup
John Elliott, University of California, Merced
The University of California (UC) Merced, a young campus that celebrated its grand opening in 2005, is piloting replicable energy strategies using LEED® certification, energy performance targets, and Labs21 Environmental Performance Criteria to drive continuous improvement. This aggressive sustainability campaign dates back to before the university was open, when the founding chancellor stated that UC Merced will set the standards for sustainable use of energy and other scarce resources.
Six years and six LEED NC Gold certified buildings later, the university continues to push the envelope. It is on track to produce zero landfill waste and achieve climate neutrality and net zero energy (producing as much energy as it consumes) by 2020. Furthermore, campus officials established a living laboratory program, which integrates education and research programs focused on energy-efficient environments with its green operational strategies.
This campaign is driving and shaping the design of every new building on the campus. Through a case study of the university's Science and Engineering Building 2, the presenters will share their insight on how campus policies and sustainable laboratory design practices blend to maximize building efficiency, giving the audience an understanding of the strategies and methodologies applied.
The facility, a high performance research and educational facility dedicated to the study of engineering and alternative energies, is designed to use 40 percent less energy than what is required of California's Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings and strives to attain LEED NC Gold certification. It will be home to the school of engineering and includes teaching and research laboratories, support space, and office space for the school. The building's exposed concrete exterior with colonnade and three-story photovoltaic shading structure were designed to strongly relate to the contextual character of the existing academic campus and promote the university's sustainability goals.
Biographies:
Irene Monis is a principal with the San Francisco office of SmithGroup. An architect and a sustainability expert with more than 20 years of experience, Ms. Monis specializes in the design and construction of science and technology facilities. Ms. Monis' expertise involves projects on university and institutional campuses with a focus on green design, LEED, and Labs21. Ms. Monis has extensive experience leading LEED-certified projects and has presented at industry conferences on topics ranging from sustainability to science and technology design. As a sustainability leader at SmithGroup, Ms. Monis has conducted LEED training seminars and has served as a sustainability advisor for the company at large. Through her laboratory design experience, Ms. Monis has been an active participant in the Labs21 Program.
John Elliott is the director of energy and sustainability at UC Merced. As co-chair of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability, Mr. Elliott is also responsible for shaping and implementing the campus sustainability strategy, which includes a "triple-zero" commitment to zero net energy, zero waste, and climate neutrality by 2020. Mr. Elliott is involved in all phases of campus infrastructure, including new construction, maintenance, operations, and planning. Mr. Elliott also manages the use of a campus-wide building energy management system as a "living laboratory" in order to facilitate operations, performance monitoring, and research.