University of California, Santa Cruz, Biomedical Sciences Facility—Sustainable Design and a Safe Environment
David Hurley, EHDD Architecture
Gurdaver Singh, Guttmann & Blaevoet
University of California (UC), Santa Cruz, Biomedical Sciences Facility incorporates the latest techniques available for reducing energy for a research laboratory building with no compromise in safety and environment.
Careful planning, with an eye to sustainability and human comfort factors, is paramount. Daylighting, views, ventilation, and design are balanced to provide a long-lived, sustainable, and pleasing experience for the researchers and campus life.
Constant air volume (CAV) systems have always been chosen for ventilation systems for laboratories for years. Recently, variable air volume (VAV) systems have increased their popularity as an alternative that improves energy efficiency. VAV versus CAV; is one better than the other? Is that the right question to ask?
This poster will provide examination of the pros and cons of each system, identify opportunities and benefits, and give real life examples of modern laboratory design and how the solution for the UC Santa Cruz Biomedical Sciences Facility fits within the building program.
California leads the country in programs to encourage owners to design, build, and operate high-performance buildings. Due to their process-driven requirements, laboratories are generally approached from a prescriptive perspective to meet energy code requirements. On a standard design approach, this allows owners to ignore the value that can be gained from sustainable design strategies.
The project made use of a number of technologies and strategies to obtain the necessary credits to attain a LEED® rating. Evaluation of energy conservation measures included financial costs and benefits (energy cost reduction, payback period, life cycle cost analysis, etc.). In addition, choices were influenced by the goal to reduce the profound impact of the built environment on occupants, the environment, and local and global communities.
This poster will focus on implementation of sustainable techniques and how to overcome hurdles, challenges, and myths associated with research laboratories.
The poster will show the audience ways to choose the appropriate solution based on process needs, client requirements, and environmental health and safety issues, as well as sustainable goals in a broader campus setting on the California coast.
Biographies:
David Hurley has 20 years of experience as a designer, architect, and project manager. Mr. Hurley enjoys being an instrumental part of the projects he works on, beginning with programming and continuing through design, documentation, construction, and occupancy. He has a breadth of design experience and strong organizational, management, and communications skills, as well as good technical knowledge and field experience. Mr. Hurley joined EHDD Architecture in 1999, and has been delighted in working on community, municipal, and academic projects that enliven the civic benefit of architecture and its users.
Gurdaver Singh brings more than 25 years of experience as principal engineer in mechanical and electrical design. Having worked with a large consultancy in the United Kingdom (UK) and an award-winning MEP consulting firm with headquarters in San Francisco, Mr. Singh's recent experience includes laboratories in both hospital and university/institutional settings for teaching, academic, and clinical research with values more than $500 million. A strong proponent of sustainable design, he is familiar with both LEED® and BREEAM (UK) sustainable design criteria. Mr. Singh is currently completing the construction administration for a biomedical research laboratory facility with 100,000 square feet, including a vivarium with 20,000 square feet of space, and a potential stem cell research center at UC Santa Cruz, the science and natural resources building for Columbia Community College in California, and Science II project at Las Positas.