GREENLAB: A Collaborative Effort at Sustainable Laboratory
Design
Peter Busby, Busby Perkins+Will
Dan Watch and Bryan
Croeni, Perkins+Will
As we move ahead in this century, science is providing us with
unprecedented, exciting and challenging possibilities in the realm
of life sciences, including biotechnology. As we continue to unlock
the code of life at molecular, cellular and systemic levels, institutions
and businesses are working to push ahead, explore, adapt and turn
research into real medicine and real technological advances that
improve the quality of life for all.
Coupled with this realization of new science opportunities, the
performance required of a research building - for controlled research
environments, for the protection of the environment and researchers
while enabling scientific inquiry and collaborative effort - increases.
Delivering this requires forethought, planning and insight, as well
as great technical expertise. Historically, these buildings have
also been significant consumers of energy and natural resources.
The City of Seattle has recognized the current and potential economic
contributions of the biotechnology industry to the regional economy
and has also made environmentally responsible design a priority.
The convergence of these two civic priorities, and the designation
of the South Lake Union area as a fitting home for the life sciences
in the Northwest, has created a unique opportunity to define the
next stage of evolution of the life sciences research building.
Labs21 Connection:
Proposal and Opportunity:
Perkins+Will, Keen Engineering and MKA have joined Vulcan Northwest
and Sellen Construction to undertake a self-funded research effort
to create a prototype biotechnology research building in order to
test the following key assumptions:
1. That an environmentally responsible and highly-functional research
building can be designed to reduce energy consumption to 80% of
that for a baseline building conforming to current energy conservation
codes at minimal or no additional construction cost and with significantly
reduced operating costs.
2. That the careful evaluation and application of environmentally
responsible planning and design strategies will result in a research
and development building that will be qualitatively superior to
current baseline buildings in enabling a vibrant and scientist-friendly
research and development environment.
3. That "green" science buildings are inherently better
neighbors in the mixed use future envisioned for the South Lake
Union area.
Recognizing that environmentally responsible strategies are often
site-specific and that a developer-based biotech tenant profile
with the related development pro forma are critical parameters for
this effort, Vulcan, a major landowner and developer in the South
Lake Union area, will furnish these key real world components and
participate throughout the process in the role of developer/owner.
Research Outcome:
We anticipate that, by the end of this process, we will have defined
and applied appropriate and practical strategies in the design of
our prototype that will demonstrate proof of concept. The resulting
building and engineered systems design, with supporting data, will
be documented and made available to those participating in our effort
followed by publication. This green lab prototype study will be
completed in April 2005.
Key findings from the Green Lab Prototype study will be presented
along with the implications it will have on laboratory design practices.
Biographies:
Peter Busby founded his architectural firm in Vancouver
in 1984. The firm now includes a core group of Associates - honing
experience, knowledge and skills in the pursuit of excellence at
every level. To better serve a growing client base Busby + Associates
has merged with Perkins+Will - creating a Northwest office for Perkins+Will
in Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary. Projects of the firm have received
many design honors including the 2004 AIA National Sustainable Design
Award for White Rock Operations Building, and four Governor General
Awards (Canada) and four Lieutenant Governor Awards (BC). Other
awards recognize engineering systems, sustainability, project management,
construction, heritage, and industrial design, thus attesting to
the comprehensive service the firm provides. Current projects include
a wide range of types and locations: post secondary education projects
at the University of British Columbia, York University, University
of Washington, Simon Frasier University, Nicola Valley Institute
of Technology; rapid transit stations; green office buildings, residential
and office tower private development projects; exploratory and planning
projects.
Dan Watch's history of award winning
design, with significant international experience and emphasis on
architecture as well as city planning, provides Perkins+Will and
their clients with a unique and well-versed talent. Mr. Watch leads,
coordinates and supports the design efforts in Perkins+Will's laboratory
studio to help assure the highest quality facilities possible within
each client's budget. In addition to his design responsibilities,
Mr. Watch is also responsible for lab planning and equipment planning.
Mr. Watch has written a book entitled Research Laboratories that
has been published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in the Fall of
2001. He was also invited to the National Institutes of Health and
Harvard University as a guest lecturer to speak on laboratory design
in the summer of 2001 and 2002. Mr. Watch explains his approach
towards architecture and planning as being "original, skillful
and affordable. Originality is in the creative resolution of specific
needs and aspirations of the clients. Skill is represented in the
detail of the actual construction. Affordability by providing the
highest quality design within the project budget."
Bryan Croeni, AIA, is a Principal
at Perkins+Will specializing in facilities for the life sciences.
His service to the biotechnology industry began in the San Francisco
Bay Area more than 25 years ago. Bryan is highly regarded as a skillful
communicator and team leader. He has demonstrated expertise in planning,
design and management on a broad range of project types across the
private and public sectors with an emphasis in high tech facilities.
Bryan's design portfolio includes the Genencor International Technology
Center in Palo Alto, CA that received R&D Magazine's Lab of
the Year Award in 1997 and the Applied Biosystems' New Corporate
Campus in Pleasanton, awarded a LEED™ Silver rating. Additional
clients for major projects include Dendreon Corporation, Allergan,
Protein Design Labs, Alza Corporation and the Stanford Management
Company (Stanford Research Park). He served as the only Architect
on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Bioscience Center before
relocating to Seattle in 2004.
Back to the Agenda
|
