Dedicated to advancing sustainable laboratories globally.
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm CDT
C1: Water Management, Resilience, and Retrofits
System Optimization
Water, Water Everywhere, Until There's Not: Designing Water-Resilient Labs
While much of the focus on lab performance is on energy and greenhouse gas performance, labs are also commonly outliers in the built environment for their water use intensity. Over the past few years, many regions of the United States have swung from drought to inundation and back from one year to the next as a result of climate change, a glimpse of the future labs will operate in over the coming decades. Designing labs to be resilient to these challenges requires focusing on whole building water use as much as energy and emissions.
This presentation will provide an overview on lab water use savings opportunities highlighted in the I2SL Best Practices Guide to Water Efficiency in Labs, with a case study highlight of the 2023 I2SL Sustainable Labs Award for Excellence in Water Efficiency, Lehigh University's Health Science Technology (HST) Building.
Lehigh's new 189,000 GSF HST Building incorporated a focus on energy performance, water savings, and wellness design to go beyond the initial goal for at least LEED Silver to achieve both LEED v4 NC Gold and Fitwel Three Stars certifications, earning the Center for Active Design's 2022 Best in Building Health Award for the highest Fitwel score of any designed project. The design recognizes a 76 percent reduction in total building annual water consumption, 45 percent energy savings, and an 82 percent reduction in fossil fuel consumption compared to the LEED baseline.
Quantifying Water Use in Laboratory Equipment With a Survey App
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) will present on an innovative project to survey, document, and quantify all water-using laboratory equipment at LBNL in just 2.5 months.
This effort quantified the total water consumed by lab equipment, a key component missing from LBNL’s sitewide water balance. It also determined the amount of water wasted by single-pass cooling of lab equipment, a practice prohibited by LBNL policy.
Two student interns successfully executed a comprehensive survey of water-using lab equipment in a streamlined manner using a custom mobile app in AppSheet, and created an easily replicable process. The students contacted Principal Investigators for over 800 laboratory spaces, determined which labs had water-using equipment, then conducted physical inspections of those spaces. In the mobile survey app, they documented key equipment details, frequency of operation, and type of water source, while also investigating potential for leaks.
The interns documented and quantified 2.5 million gallons per year of water consumption from more than 4,000 pieces of lab equipment using the innovative and custom mobile app, and documented it with an interactive data visualization dashboard. Additionally, the project raised researcher awareness of water use and conservation in lab spaces, identified water savings opportunities, highlighted best practices for water use in lab equipment, and addressed safety by identifying potential leaks.
Decarbonization of Laboratories: Lessons Learned
Princeton University is several years into a program to replace the existing cogeneration and district steam system with a heat pump based district hot water system with geo-exchange and thermal storage. As we build out the new network and cut back the existing steam system, we are converting various types of buildings to run on low temperature hot water. Several laboratories are either converted or under conversion. This discussion will present various findings, strategies and lessons learned to minimize cost and disruption to the campus.
C2: Strategic Approaches to Lab Sustainability
Green Labs
Sustainability Practically Applied
Presentations on sustainability are often fluffy, filled with platitudes often with out clear proof points. MilliporeSigma approaches sustainability differently. We're looking to challenge scientists, researchers, lab and facility managers and others in the industry to ask different questions and dream bigger. This presentation will highlight actions that give users an understanding of how to holistically approach sustainability by using a product lifecycle thinking approach. By embedding sustainability in each key area, changing our requirements is key to transform how labs function and the impact they have. From R&D of products, to the supply chain, manufacturing, packaging and distribution, product use and end of life, asking key questions, understanding the impact of each phase and using data to inform choices is a new skill that we need to dust off, refine or develop.
Using established reporting frameworks, a clear structured approach to evaluation, we will demonstrate that while sustainability is a bit of art and a bit of science, it's also a lot of a journey and we all have a role to play to accelerate our progress to the destination.
Where Does the Support and Staffing of Green Labs Programs Really Stand at U.S. Institutions?
The appearance of green labs programs at universities first began in 2008, and over time a growing number of programs have emerged with many initiated by lab researchers themselves or researchers putting pressure on their institutions to start programs. After 15+ years, what is the status of green labs programs at U.S. institutions? Of the 100 U.S. universities with the most R&D expenditures (which according to NSF data totals US$77 billion in 2022), how many have green labs program and, more importantly, how many have full-time employees dedicated to running those programs? Given the climate crisis, the large environmental footprint of lab research, and the role scientists play in influencing how research is conducted at institutions, how much funding is being spent on supporting green labs programs relative to R&D dollars?
The data presented in this talk will certainly point to the fact that the green labs community is clearly underfunded and that without more staffing and support, even the most funded programs will not be able to achieve their goals (of campus-wide engagement of lab researchers and partnering with campus stakeholder to put processes in place for sustainable practices at the lab occupant level). This is unlikely to change until granting bodies start connecting environmental sustainability expectations with receiving grant funding. While progress is being made on this front by granting bodies in Europe, little to no progress is being made by U.S. granting bodies.
No Cost/Low-Cost Lab Sustainability Strategies
Small research labs have tight budgets, making it challenging to invest in capital-intensive solutions. Nevertheless, many cost-effective measures can address energy consumption, water usage, and waste management, significantly impacting both the organizations' finances and carbon footprint. Examples include optimizing equipment usage, reducing red bag waste, and collaborating closely with vendors, all of which contribute to lowering operational costs in research laboratories. The Lab Project is dedicated to empowering small labs to allocate more resources to actual research, while embracing sustainability practices. We understand the struggle of knowing where to begin, which is why we specialize in introducing innovative and practical solutions to enhance laboratory operations. The Lab Project frees up budgets so labs can do more with less.
C3: Sustainable Design Challenges
Sustainable Design
Leveraging Unique Prefabrication Innovations to Provide an Inspiring and Sustainable Research Facility at Warp Speed
Biologics Development Center is a four-story, 220,000 SF facility constructed to accommodate Pharmaceutical Science and Pilot Plant Operations. Facing tight time constraints of combining existing research facilities and a new pilot plant under one roof, the IPD team utilized novel prefab construction methods to attain a certificate of occupancy within 19 months of establishing the Basis of Design. This presentation will focus on the opportunities and challenges inherent with off-site pre-fabrication in a new facility that is pursuing both LEED Gold and WELL Gold certification.
To accomplish this ambitious task, an IDP team comprised of the owner, the builder (DPR), and the architect/engineer (Jacobs), assembled a lineup of trade partners to develop innovative prefabrication strategies. With the goal of leveraging 50 percent off-site fabrication, this team went beyond conventional prefabrication such as exterior wall panels, interior partitions, and horizontal MEP racks. The team utilized novel prefabrication techniques such as: a modular structural framing system featuring tinker-toy-like steel frame connections; a prefabricated stair system delivered in flat packs; and multiple 36’ tall “shark-cage-shafts” (vertical pre-piped multi-trade-racks).
Implementation of these strategies led to reduction in the overall schedule, more than 50 percent off-site fabrication, and a safer construction site. Meanwhile, end users are reaping the benefits of an inspiring and sustainable workspace.
Strategies to Reduce Carbon for a High-Performance Laboratory Building
This session will present a case study of a high-performance laboratory that is currently nearing construction completion. During the design process, the team was challenged by the City to achieve aggressive sustainability performance metrics and deliver a LEED Platinum Certifiable Laboratory building.
The presentation will explore how the team came together and applied various performance-based design strategies in response to the challenge, while also addressing the constraints associated with sustainability goals for a high-performance laboratory space where details like ventilation and safety are critical.
Multiple strategies were explored to push the design into the LEED Platinum category, and ultimately, the exhaust system was determined to be a key component of the solution for cost and feasibility of implementation. Through a combination of comprehensive exhaust dispersion modeling and implementation of specialized monitoring and controls, the exhaust system and heating/cooling loads for the building were optimized without compromising the safety or functionality of the laboratory space.
The team will present the outcomes of exhaust dispersion modeling, along with a deeper look into the VAV control strategies and site-specific considerations incorporated into the facility design. Additional areas of focus for the team that contributed to LEED Platinum will also be discussed, including building life-cycle assessment and equipment selection to reduce embodied carbon.
The Sustainability Sandwich: A Case Study of Hospital-Embedded Laboratories
Building sustainable laboratories is challenging enough, when the laboratories are embedded in the middle of a hospital on a restricted urban site a sustainable solution becomes even harder. Kiri Collins, Head of Built Environment & Infrastructure at Children’s Cancer Institute, and Bettina Bartos, Principal Architect for the new Minderoo Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre, present how a restricted planning envelope drove a sustainable approach across all aspects of design.
Due for completion in 2025, Australia's first Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre will bring together the best research and clinical minds in a truly integrated environment focussed on achieving the best outcomes for children with cancer, accelerating innovation to intervention and providing excellence in research-driven clinical care. It will provide technologically advanced BSL-2 laboratory facilities, dedicated high-quality patient clinical spaces together with contemporary workspaces for clinicians and research scientists.
They examine how moving to an activity-based approach to utilisation of laboratories enables the ultimate in sustainable design, and how the integration of patient care and research has led to a more sustainable solution for both patients and researchers, by creating a co-culture of clinical care and research. Other sustainable initiatives explored include the future-proofing of services and the decision-making process to centralise facilities rather than duplicate them.
C4: Embodied Carbon and Mass Timber
Decarbonization
Best Practices in Supply Chain Decarbonization for Labs
We have spent years studying and mitigating the impact of the operational energy load labs require and the carbon impact they have. Today we know we need to consider the embodied carbon impact of our buildings as well. Thanks especially to the embodied carbon score in the Labs2Zero program this is going to be even easier soon, but we are developing best practices in reducing the impact of the products and materials we use. Data on the carbon footprint of building materials is readily available, and using it to understand the supply chain impact of your lab projects is easier today than it’s ever been. So how do we do it? This session will feature a supplier and design leader sharing best practices in connecting your construction procurement choices with your organizational carbon goals.
Reducing Embodied Carbon in Life Science Buildings Through Mass Timber
Life science buildings are ranked among the most carbon and energy-intensive building types. The challenges to reduce embodied carbon are due to their unique functional requirements, including more complex air handling systems, more stringent floor vibration criteria, and larger laboratory equipment loads. Traditionally, steel or concrete structures are the go-to construction systems, but these systems amplify the environmental and carbon impact of life science buildings.
This session will be dedicated to addressing challenges associated with reducing embodied carbon of life science buildings. Our discussion will focus on the outcomes of a multidisciplinary research project and offer insights into our holistic approach to carbon reduction in life science buildings by leveraging mass-timber construction. We will present various methods of constructing a mass timber building, with an emphasis on optimizing material efficiency, reducing embodied carbon and integrating mechanical and other systems typically found in lab buildings. The team will also share results of life cycle carbon assessment of lab building models for steel, concrete, conventional mass timber, and CLT/steel hybrid systems, along with our proposed mass timber solution. The ultimate goal is to make the environmental benefits of mass timber accessible and practical for both developers and end users in the life science sector.
Lowering Embodied Carbon Through Biobased Design: Mass Timber in Three Institutional Labs
The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report made abundantly clear we need to do everything possible to reduce or eliminate carbon in our built environment. However stark the need--the devil is always in the details--and the implementation of some of our best renewable building materials to lower embodied carbon and create a restorative campus is often met with challenges, doubts, and funding issues.
This session explores the current challenges surrounding mass timber development, including supply chain and schedule risks due to availability, concern for sustainable sourcing, construction industry familiarity, and coordination issues. It includes a case study of the ARS/WSU Plant Biosciences Research Building--four-story mass timber, a story of complexity increasing with size and height--and two case studies employing creative alternative approaches to carbon reduction and prefabrication at the York University--mass timber over podium a story of leveraging site opportunities and a confidential project that employs a mass timber/concrete/steel hybrid for a faster, cheaper, lighter entry point for mass timber.
Finally, we look at the specific concerns around incorporating mass timber into a lab, with its stringent technical requirements, equipment demands and environmental controls.
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