Argonne National Laboratory - Advanced Protein Characterization Facility

Key Sustainability Features

• High performance glass on south exterior wall with an electrochromic shading feature
• Stormwater management incorporates green infrastructure such as vegetated filter strips and bioswales
• Innovative energy recovery in laboratory and mechanical spaces such as enthalpy energy recovery

Sustainable Sites

One of the most important initial building design considerations is orientation. To take advantage of natural daylight and airflow, the project designed a long, single story building oriented on an east-to-west axis, keeping in mind the importance of shading the south exposure in the summertime (see more information under Daylighting).

APCF was built on a previously developed site. During construction, the contractor was required to reduce pollution on site by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation; toward this end, an erosion and sedimentation control plan was implemented.

Native plantings are an important part of Argonne’s campus, where meadows, savanna, wetland and grassland dominate. Half of the area surrounding the APCF building was restored with native and adaptive vegetation. With the exception of some non-native turf grass, all plants are either indigenous or cultivars of native plants adapted to the local climate. This minimizes weekly mowing costs and reduces fossil fuel use.

When native plantings are paired with rainwater management strategies they can assist in the treatment and percolation of rainwater, especially when planted into bioswales or stormwater detention basins.

Alternative Transportation

The project incorporated bike racks for building occupants to be used in partnership with an on-site biking program. A shower and changing room is provided with multiple showers available in the adjacent Laboratory Office Module. In addition, 5% of parking spaces are dedicated for electric vehicles.

Heat Island Effect

The building design addressed heat island effect through a light-colored TPO roof membrane. This reflective roof material repels solar radiation on the surface, keeping the roof surface cooler, which reduces cooling load in hot summer months.

Shade trees have been located on south and west sides of the building to reduce the urban heat island effect and to reduce glare. Trees were placed near all entries and patios to provide this benefit to users in the summer. Transpiration from shade trees can lower ambient temperatures anywhere from 5-10 degrees from surrounding air in the summer. Deciduous trees also lose their leaves in the winter, which allows sun to warm the building and let daylight into the building windows.

Rainwater Management

Rainwater runoff from the building is collected, filtered and conveyed through a combination of roof drains, retention ponds and bioswales. The project was designed with a minimal amount of piping, prioritizing green rather than grey stormwater infrastructure. The rainwater that flows over hardscaped areas is directed through depressed paving areas, over vegetated filter strips, and into the retention and treatment bioswale before releasing water into the existing site swales.

Light Pollution Reduction

Exterior and interior lighting was designed to reduce light trespass over the site boundaries. All site lighting is ‘dark sky compliant’ to decrease the negative effects artificial lighting can have on the environment. Placement of site light fixtures provides for a well-lit, safe site while minimizing unnecessary lighting. Light fixtures have full cut-off angles so light levels at project site boundary are low. All non-emergency interior lighting automatically turns off during non-operating hours to minimize light trespass at night and conserve energy.

Water Efficiency

Water savings were achieved via landscaping and interior water fixtures. The landscaping was designed to reduce the use of irrigation following an initial establishment period. Plants were chosen for their drought tolerance, with no annual plantings used.

The design team specified low flow fixtures throughout the building and provided water flow restrictors at lab faucets. The design reduced water use by a minimum of 30% after meeting the Energy Policy Act of 1992 fixture performance requirements.

Energy and Atmosphere

The Advanced Protein Characterization Facility meets and exceeds stringent architectural, mechanical and electrical efficiency design criteria. The project achieved a 30% energy cost reduction compared to a similar building. This savings equals an achievement of 6 points in the LEED v2.2 rating system.

Facility energy efficiency design starts with the building’s site orientation. The APCF was oriented to precisely 15 degrees off true East-West. This orientation maximizes daylighting potential and winter solar gain while minimizing summer solar heat gain.

The ‘skin’ of the building, or the envelope was designed to achieve overall exterior thermal performance exceeding the u-values, solar heat gain coefficients and all other requirements set forth in the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 standard.

Laboratory environments are energy intensive spaces; with that in mind, mechanical systems were designed to leverage efficiencies and recover heat and/or energy. For instance, an enthalpy energy recovery wheel works year round to transfer heating or cooling from the exiting conditioned air to the incoming, unconditioned air.

A unique solution to this laboratory’s heating needs was found next door at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility. At APS, a magnet-cooling water system draws heat from the magnets into the water used to cool the magnets. That water, containing the waste heat from the APS experiment, is carried to APCF where the heat is used to condition the spaces. High performance low-flow fume hoods were specified to reduce overall energy use.

Office areas at APCF are cooled using highly efficient chilled beams which reduce fan energy primary airflow required from the air-handling unit.

Meters, measures and sensors for efficiency

Through the measurement of CO2 within office spaces, the volume of outside air can be varied to deliver to actual occupant demand. This approach greatly reduces building energy consumption, as heating and cooling outside air is a large portion of total energy consumption. All outdoor air is provided with air-flow measuring stations.

Building systems have been metered to measure lighting, motors and general purpose power. This metering integrates with the building energy management system to track and evaluate energy performance. Lighting is also controlled via a central building automation system (BAS) to minimize energy consumed.

Additional efficiencies in lighting were gained with occupancy sensors, daylight sensors and multi-level controls. Daylight sensors detect natural daylight and when present, reduce interior lighting by 50%

Materials and Resources

The extraction, processing and transport of building materials to a building site contribute to a facility’s ecological footprint. In the APCF project design, all team members sought to utilize materials from local and responsible sources.

The project team explored the incorporation of several types of recycled products into the project specifications, many of which were readily available in the marketplace and did not increase product cost. For example, the project used recycled asphalt, concrete, and masonry for fill under landscape areas. Counter tops were made from resin and recycled wood fiber. Laboratory metal casework contained a high recycled content. Wood-based lab casework is made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood, and is formaldehyde-free. Steel reinforcement, structural steel and steel decking have a high percentage of recycled material and were also regionally available. Other regional materials were incorporated into the project design and specifications wherever available, such as concrete aggregates and reinforcement.

The green building goal of regional materials created a synergy with Argonne’s Buy American standards. Several manufacturing cities within 500 miles of the project site helped the team obtain high quality, sustainable local materials and building systems. Finally, one of the best ways to reduce material waste is to design using fewer materials. Exposed structural elements and ceilings reduced the amount of material resources needed for the designed spaces of the facility.

Indoor Environmental Quality

The APCF is an extremely pleasant place to work. Occupants enjoy expansive views to the outdoors, a high level of daylight in the office and interior laboratory spaces, sufficient and comfortable ventilation, and individual lighting controls. Providing occupants control over their workspace lighting is another aspect of indoor environmental quality. Lighting controls are provided to all building occupants at workstations and lab benches, with task lighting. Switches and/or dimming controls are provided in common, multi-user spaces.

The architectural and interior design of the project minimized the amount of materials and systems that emit volatile organic compounds, VOCs, into the indoor air. The project team zeroed in on adhesives, sealants, paints coatings and flooring systems that reduce the amount of off gassing within the building envelope.

Daylighting

Several daylighting strategies were implemented in the building with the aim of drawing light deep into the interior of the building. This contributes to a pleasant indoor environment, cuts down on interior lighting needs, and reduces interior solar heat gain. The building is oriented east to west to maximize penetration of natural light into offices and common spaces while minimizing hot, direct morning and evening sun. The center spine that separates the offices from the labs delivers an abundance of natural light into the center of the building through the use of a clerestory feature running the length of the building. Open office areas in the southern block of the building receive daylight through the doors, transoms and side-lights at the perimeter offices.

If not controlled, glazing that allows a high angle daylight infiltration can often be a source of glare and visual discomfort. To counter this effect, at APCF the southern windows are electrochromatically dimmable, allowing users to switch on a darkening feature when heat/glare is observed. To compliment daylighting strategies, the building envelope consists of insulated assemblies to control solar heat gain.