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Renderings of New York City’s first purpose-built, all-electric research laboratory building were released today. When completed, the high-performance building will host faculty, staff and students from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The project was designed by KPF, with Atelier Ten as the sustainability consultant and AKF as the project engineer.
The eight-story building will occupy a corner of Harlem. It will house biomedical research and laboratory facilities, as well as space for workshops and community engagement.
“We are excited to partner with Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to build this truly cutting-edge research laboratory facility, the first of its kind in New York City,” said KPF President Jill Lerner. “As a company, our With a mission to enhance a city’s infrastructure through impactful projects like this, as architects we are keenly aware that project-driven architecture can have a positive impact not only on its institutions, but also on its communities. and the whole city.”
Delivering a fully electric laboratory building is no easy task. Research laboratories, as a building type, require strong ventilation requirements, which often increase energy consumption. To solve this problem, a series of creative strategies were adopted, namely building envelope and cooling system.
Atelier Ten and KPF reviewed Columbia’s existing facilities to see where improvements could be made; the architects explored integrated energy models and benchmarked against local regulations and peer agencies to raise the bar on sustainability standards. Designers say these factors influenced every subsequent phase of the project.
When completed, the energy performance of the new biomedical building will exceed the emission limits set by New York City Local Law 97 and support Columbia University’s Project 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goals.
One of Plan 2030’s climate goals is to limit fossil fuel infrastructure in campus buildings and achieve campus-wide net-zero emissions by 2050. Thanks to the close collaboration with AKF, the building’s operational efficiency is expected to improve by 30 percent compared to ASHRAE 90.1 2010 standards, the architects said.
Heating and cooling of the laboratory building will be handled by electric air source heat pumps (ASHP). This enables energy recovery between the heating and cooling fluids, providing temper-free times of the year, KPF continues. Meanwhile, air-side energy recovery systems use waste heat to reduce the overall energy required to air condition the building. The building’s high-performance façade has an optimized window-to-wall ratio of less than 50%, which along with the envelope’s strategic external shading and louvres also help to minimize solar heat gain and glare.
“As an all-electric research laboratory building in a cold climate, the Biomedical Research Building faces special challenges due to the high heat loads imposed by the ventilation requirements of the building project,” said Carlos Cerezo Davila, director and head of sustainability at KPF. “This requirement We designed a building in which architectural and mechanical systems work together in an integrated, energy-efficient whole, demonstrating that all building types – even the most complex – can be part of a decarbonized built environment.”
Atelier Ten Director Nico Kienzl added: “This new building embodies the challenges and opportunities of designing for a zero-carbon future. By eliminating the project’s use of fossil fuels, Columbia takes a bold step towards an emissions-free campus and achieves The city’s vision for reducing climate impact today. The building combines rigorous analysis, advanced efficiency measures and an all-electric plant to deliver a cost-effective, high-performance design for this inherently challenging type.”
Columbia University’s new biomedical research building is funded in part by a Regional Economic Development Council grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The initiative supports innovative, low-carbon development in underserved communities.
Construction at Columbia is expected to be completed by summer 2024.
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