When it comes to the Olympics, the goal is to go for the gold but when it comes to the new biotechnology building under construction at URI officials will be content to nail down the silver and be able to say they nudged the gold.

Gold, silver and even platinum are all ratings in a system called “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) which has been embraced by those involved in the design, construction and operation of new buildings such as the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS) currently under construction.

From the very beginning, one goal of those involved in the $58-million building was to make it as energy efficient as possible, to make sure its impact on the environment is minimized and to take steps toward bolstering the productivity of the tenants.

That’s a tall order for a project so huge and complex and the key toward success is to begin with the design stage.

That responsibility has fallen to the firm of Lerner, Ladds and Bartels Inc., of Providence which serves as associate architects to the lead architects, Payette Associates.

For Christian Ladds, a principal in Lerner, Ladds and Bartels, and Eric Smith an associate in the firm, there have been many challenges with the CBLS, notes. “This building uses a lot of energy and exhausts a lot of air,” says Ladds, explaining the lab buildings

typically use more energy and exhaust more air than many other building types.

Working toward a good LEED rating requires designers—and purchasers—to address myriad details under six sweeping categories—Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and finally Innovation & Design Process.

Under each of those broad categories are line-itemed criteria. Points are given for each criterion that is accomplished. For example under Sustainable Sites points are given for public transportation access, open space retention and light pollution reduction. Under Materials & Resources, points are given for the amount of recycled materials, for waste disposal efficiency and for obtaining building materials within a 500-mile radius of the site.

The rating is determined when all the points are tallied. For a silver rating, 33-38 points are needed. A gold rating requires 39 to 51 points and a new building that nets 52 or more points gets the highest rating—platinum.

It is difficult to get a high rating on a lab building because of all the inherent energy-using equipment and the fact that air handling issues are so complicated.

But the CBLS, which is due to be finished by the end of the year, looks like it will hold its own in the ratings.

Good design, smart buying, green practices are roads that "LEED" biotechnology building to a silver future.

By RUDI HEMPE
CELS News Editor

Eric Smith (left), an associate, and Christian Ladds, a principal in the architectural firm of Lerner, Ladds and Bartels Inc., are constantly checking details on the elaborate blueprints for the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, making sure that the building gets points for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system.

In the Sustainable Site category, the “green roof” on the fourth floor of the teaching wing will rate as will the rain garden in the courtyard. A rain garden is an area with sustainable plants irrigated by stormwater runoff from the building. Even the orientation of the building on the site can be a positive move. There is no additional parking at the CBLS site—a plus. Another plus will be the numerous bike racks.

Under Water Efficiency, some of the men’s rooms will have waterless urinals. The urinals are designed with a special trap that allows waste to drain through a chemical barrier without flushing. The permeable barrier allows liquids to penetrate but blocks odors.

Of course the fact that there will be a rain garden helps score a point in the “Water Efficient Landscaping” sub-category as well as the Sustainable Site category.

The CBLS should rack up a number of points under the Energy & Atmosphere category. Highly efficient air handling and heating systems are being installed.

Windows are unique in the CBLS. The windows that face south will have horizontal light shelves (they look like airfoils) that will reflect light up to another reflector which then bounces it through a transom. The idea is to capture enough light through the office windows so that it scatters into the interior corridor. During the day, then, fewer electric lights are needed in the corridors.

On the east and west walls, the windows will have vertical structures that curb heat load into the building but allow light, explains Ladds.

The windows are large and made of a special energy efficient glass. However the LEED rating system sometimes giveth and then taketh away. For example, notes Richard C. Rhodes, CELS associate dean who is overseeing the construction project for the college, “The windows in CBLS earn LEED points for allowing the penetration of light into the interior of the building, thus reducing electricity usage for lighting during the day. Alternatively, one of the LEED points for energy and atmosphere is offset by the light that will shine from the building through the large windows at night.”

Another feature that helps the energy rating of CBLS is that there will be considerable natural ventilation, notes Smith.

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A mock-up window on the site of the CBLS shows the vertical "wing" that is designed to reduce heat load on the east and west walls of the building. Other windows will have horizontal light shelves, designed to reflect sunlight through offices and into interior corridors, thus reducing the need for lighting.

Published: June 2008