We are pleased to announce our Kimball Hall Renovation at Cornell University received the 2017 S-Lab Refurbished Laboratory award.
The S-Lab Awards are recognized around the world as the benchmark for good laboratory design, operation and management. This year’s awards were selected from an applicant pool featuring 14 different countries.
High Performance Rebirth for Interdisciplinary Research
The renovation of Kimball Hall, which also was named 2016 R&D Magazine Renovation Lab of the Year, was a prototype project to demonstrate the potential existing buildings have to meet the next generation of interdisciplinary research needs. It weaves together a series of layers (low energy office workspace, high intensity support zone and a highly flexible open research laboratory) to create an integrated and cohesive research neighborhood. The simple elegance of the loft-like design is accented by bold accent colors and materials within a bright daylight series of spaces.
We are honored to receive this award and want to congratulate the other 2017 S-Lab Award recipients!
This Earth Week, we’ll be covering five landmark buildings exemplifying new approaches to building performance and sustainability.
The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Klarman Building is the first hospital in the northeast to implement chilled beams in an inpatient setting. Early energy analysis demonstrated that the use of chilled beams would be the best way to reduce building energy use.
For this strategy to work, however, the peak thermal loads of the façades could not exceed the capacity of the chilled beams. An integrated design approach and in-house modeling allowed for constant tuning of the façade to optimize glazing, solar exposure and massing. The building orients glazing to face true north and south to minimize heat gain and maximize occupant comfort, resulting in a 15% reduction in peak solar load.
Beyond performance, the distinctive serrated terracotta façade reflects the scale and cadence of individual patient rooms, providing a delicate scale and texture to the façade.
#earthweek #designalways #buildingscience #performalism #facade