We consistently work towards incorporating energy-saving tactics into the buildings we design. We profile recently-completed or soon-to-be completed projects detailing energy-saving statistics. We are committed to energy efficient spaces and reducing the environmental impact of each building.
This month we’re looking at the Gary C. Comer Geochemistry building, which provides the Geochemistry Division of the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), a research unit of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, with a new state-of-the-art research facility. It replaces an existing building constructed in 1953, which had become too small and outdated to adequately support the division’s activities.
The new Comer Building is home to more than 70 geochemists who exploit chemical tracers to investigate all aspects of the planet, including the dynamics of the solid earth, circulation of the oceans and atmosphere, and transport of materials via wind and water. In recent years, much of the research pursued by this group has taken a place at the forefront of climate science.
To learn more about this project, visit our project page.
Reduction in building energy usage
(compared to Labs21 average energy usage)
This reduction is equal to the averge energy usages of 52 Northeast homes annually.
Reduction in water usage over code.
This reduction equal to the water use of 1,185 bath tubs annually.
Of the lab area have daylighting levels that allow lights to be off during daylight hours.
Of the offices have an operable window for natural ventilation.
(30% of the year able to be naturally ventilated, equates to 44% decrease in their cooling load)
Decrease in the building footprint by using a ‘skip-stop’ or split level scheme.
The reduction in concrete for the foundations is equivalent to the carbon absorbed in one year by 46 acres of pine forest.
2.2 acres of prime forest was saved by changing the building location from a greenfield to an existing parking lot.
The preservation of this forest is equivalent to taking 59 cars off the road annually.
Cape Cod Community College’s Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center is a net-positive energy building designed to transform the heart of campus.
The project approaches sustainability through a holistic and global approach, implementing a range of moves including passive solar shading overhangs, air-source heat pumps, high performance materials with low embodied carbon and the expansion of the range of thermal comfort and lighting power density. Combined with on-site photovoltaics, the project achieves net-positive energy use.
The project’s thermally modified wood rainscreen façade is a study of the modern expression of vernacular Cape Cod architecture while reducing embodied carbon. Early lifecycle assessments identified the immense carbon savings of wood over fiber cement. The design team did not stop there, furthering reductions by peeling back unnecessary finishes like carpet and ceilings. Together, these decisions enabled a 19% reduction in embodied carbon.
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