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Dive brief:
- Kohn Pederson Fox has unveiled plans for New York City’s first all-electric academic research laboratory building for Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
- The eight-story biomedical building will use electric air heat pumps that enable energy recovery between heating and cooling fluids, according to a news release Wednesday. This exchange “will provide periods of free tempering throughout the year,” KPF said, allowing operators to moderate the temperature without consuming additional energy.
- This building is expected to outperform emission limits established by Local Law 97 of the City of New York and 30% more efficient than the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 standard.
Diving knowledge:
The building’s all-electric design and energy efficiency support the ivy league university’s goals of abstaining from new fossil fuel infrastructure in its campus buildings by 2030 and achieving emissions net zero greenhouse gases across the campus by 2050, KPF said.
The academic research building will also provide exterior shading and a blind system to minimize solar heat and glare, according to the release. Aside from outdoor shade, the design will feature green walls and natural and renewable materials in collaborative spaces, while a large connecting scale would encourage active circulation, KPF said. Access to daylight will be prioritized through light shelving that can minimize glare and reflect natural light into the laboratories.
“As New York State works to decarbonize its electricity grid through renewable energy investments driven by legislation such as the New York State Climate Act and the Clean Power Standard, it is vital that the buildings of our city prepare for this transition”, Carlos Cerezo Davila. director and head of sustainability at KPF, said in the statement.
To address the challenges associated with creating an all-electric research lab in New York City, KPF had to develop an integrated design process that took into account the increased ventilation requirements, according to the release. This need for ventilation requires more robust mechanical systems, which usually result in higher energy consumption.
Working closely with project engineer AKF and sustainability consultant Atelier Ten, the team implemented a comprehensive pre-design and sustainability analysis, KPF said. The scope of this project included a review of existing facilities, comprehensive energy modeling, benchmarking against local regulations and similar institutions to establish sustainability criteria that would shape subsequent construction and design phases, according to the release .
“AKF and KPF collaborated on efforts to develop a facade strategy without overloading the HVAC systems,” Jason Sylvain, AKF’s partner in charge of the project, said in the statement. “Our team developed innovative engineering strategies to make the most of the heat pump and energy recovery technologies to ensure that every kilowatt put into the building is used to its full potential.”
Funded in part by a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Regional Economic Development Council, the building, which will house laboratory and biomedical research facilities, as well as symposium and space for community involvement, will connect the Columbia University School of Nursing and Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion to create a unified academic and research facility, KPF said.
