United Therapeutics CGMP warehouse
Durham, NC
BEST PROJECT, MANUFACTURER
Sent by: DPR construction
Owner: United Therapeutics
Main design company: Hanbury
General contractor: DPR construction
Civil and structural engineer: NV5
MEP Engineer: Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI)
Landscape architect: Surface 678
United Therapeutics’ latest distribution warehouse may be the second net-zero building built on the biotech company’s campus in Durham, North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, but it’s still a unique project.
Built to meet current FDA Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) regulations, the 55,000-square-foot distribution facility stores pharmaceutical products and must meet exacting standards for 24-hour temperature control, 7 days a week, making a net zero design a particularly difficult goal.
“I think it’s a unique building in many ways,” says Kyle Keogh, project manager for DPR Construction. Adding that the project team referred to it as “a first in many respects”. He says it’s the first project he’s worked on with geothermal and the first with his own microgrid.
Photo courtesy DPR Construction
The design-build project is raising the bar for sustainability in the industry, with a geothermal system of 40 vertical boreholes, each 6 inches in diameter and 500 feet deep. A 1,200-panel roof-mounted photovoltaic system produces a peak. of 560 kW and 767 MWh of expected annual production and net metering with the local company Duke Energy. Smart building technology such as lighting occupancy sensors and Energy Star certified office equipment further reduce the building’s carbon footprint.
Tesla Megapacks, self-sealing modular battery packs, were installed for flexibility and strength, providing 3.1 MWh and 770 kW of capacity. Two Megapacks provided the necessary energy reserve for the entire installation.
With these capabilities, the distribution warehouse can operate off the grid in an emergency like the South has seen in recent weeks with Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“The building was built to be resilient against these factors,” Keogh says of its ability to disconnect from the grid and remain fully operational during similar events.
Minimizing the building’s carbon footprint began with its physical footprint, he says, which included an existing, underutilized soccer field with a wood-frame cottage that DPR incorporated into the final structure. Clearing and felling of trees was minimized except for an access section from the road.
Photo courtesy DPR Construction
The warehouse will now receive LEED Gold, LEED Zero Carbon and EnergyStar certifications, and is the first of its kind to deliver this level of performance to a CGMP logistics and operations facility.
In the presentation, the project team said that the project often “blazed its own trail,” establishing baselines from scratch where none exist, down to minute details such as the frequency and duration of clean room doors open on a normal day.
“We all rolled up our sleeves as a team,” says Keogh, emphasizing the importance of teamwork between design and construction partners. “We all felt like we were part of the team, and that’s what drove the project to be the success it is.”
Now that the installation is in operation, the team continues with monitoring and measurement to validate the Energy Use Intensity of the design, and in the first months of monitoring, adjustments have already been made to ensure that the installation lation meets its objectives.
“I can’t say we’ll build another one like it again,” says Keogh. “But it’s a testament to what we can do when we push the envelope. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
