Project Details
- Project Name
- Amherst College New Science Center
- Architect
- Payette
- Client/Owner
- Amherst College
- Project Types
- Education
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 230,000 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2018
- Shared by
- Hanley Wood
- Consultants
-
Lighting Designer: Available Light ,Electrical Engineer: van Zelm Engineers,Plumbing Engineer: van Zelm Engineers,Interior Designer: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.,Structural Engineer: LeMessurier,Civil Engineer: Nitsch Engineering
- Project Status
- Built
This article appeared in the November 2019 issue of ARCHITECT as part of our expanded coverage of the 2019 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards.
By integrating systems and taking a holistic approach to sustainable design, this lab building achieved an EUI 76% lower than the national average for the building type.
At first, Amherst College, located in western Massachusetts, just wanted a new home for its science labs. Then it heard about Dartmouth. Amherst’s New Hampshire rival had recently completed its own life sciences center, which, despite being full of energy-intensive laboratories, had an EUI of just 99 kBtus per square foot per year—significantly below the average for its building type.
“Amherst came to us and said, ‘We have to beat Dartmouth,’ ” says Jeff Abramson, AIA, a senior associate at Payette, the Boston-based practice hired to design the school’s New Science Center. The firm, which has developed a reputation for delivering high-performance, sustainable academic research facilities, accepted the challenge—knowing full well that a deep integration of systems was the only way to meet it.
In a typical lab building, air circulation is the biggest energy demand, so the first step was to reduce the amount of air required. That meant using high-efficiency chilled beams to cool non-laboratory spaces, and a cascade circulation system that recycles air from the offices and common areas into the labs, where it is vented out. Before leaving the building, the air passes through a convection heat recovery system, which draws energy out of the exhaust for use elsewhere. The firm also employed high-efficiency fume hoods in the labs, each of which can be shut off when not in use.
Because of the building’s north–south orientation, Payette also had to address the fact that its longest wall—400 feet long, to be exact—was exposed to direct afternoon sunlight. But the firm had already decided that the wall needed to be almost all glass to allow natural lighting into the center’s laboratories. The firm installed high-performance triple-glazing with two low-E coatings, one to deflect exterior light, the other to reflect and retain internal heat. Inside the windows run retractable shades; when lowered, they create a solar chimney—the air between the window and the shades absorbs external heat, which rises to a rooftop monitor and radiant convective panels.
In other parts of the building, Payette kept glass to a minimum: Much of the exteriors are brick or steel, which are thermally separate from the internal walls, further reducing demand on the HVAC system. “A lot of detailing went into making sure we had a very high-performance skin,” Abramson says.
Payette paid equal attention to the building’s water consumption—both as a sustainability strategy and as a pedagogical tool. “Unlike in the West, New England isn’t as sensitive to water,” says principal Michael Hinchcliffe, AIA. “We tried to use this project to raise awareness of water issues.”
The building directs rainwater from the roof to a central reservoir on campus, where it is used in the university’s cooling towers—saving up to a million gallons of water a year. A water feature in the building showcases water capture levels to occupants.
Raising awareness also meant making the building overtly biophilic, starting by connecting it to the college’s new greenway—a series of gardens, common spaces, and paths that tie together the eastern side of campus. Also, the center is shaped like a letter E, and Payette placed rain gardens between its three arms.
Those gardens have quickly become oases for students and wildlife. “You go in there and suddenly you’re in your own world,” says Robert J. Schaeffner, FAIA, the principal in charge of the project.
In the end, by making incremental, integrated moves that work together to create a holistic approach, the science center smashed Dartmouth’s very respectable energy-use rating by eight points, achieving an EUI of 91 kBtus per square foot per year—a stunning 76% below the baseline for this building type, according to Schaeffner. “We find that as long as you set a clear number as a target, it’s easy for us to achieve it,” he says.
Project Attributes
Architect: Payette
Owner: Amherst College
Location: Amherst, Mass.
Project Site: Brownfield
Building Program Type(s): Education—College/University (campus-level); Laboratory
Year of Design Completion: 2015
Year of Substantial Project Completion: 2018
Gross Conditioned Floor Area: 251,000 square feet
Gross Unconditioned Floor Area: Zero
Number of Stories: Six
Project Climate Zone: ASHRAE 5A
Annual Hours of Operation: 8,760
Site Area: 522,922 square feet
Project Site Context/Setting: Rural
Cost of Construction, Excluding Furnishings: N/A
Number of Residents, Occupants, and Visitors: 1,380
Project Credits
Project: New Science Center, Amherst, Mass.
Client/Owner: Amherst College
Architect: Payette, Boston . Robert J. Schaeffner, FAIA (principal, principal-in-charge); Sara Gewurz, AIA (senior associate, project manager); Michael Hinchcliffe, AIA (principal, project architect); Mark Oldham, AIA (principal, project architect); Jeffrey Abramson, AIA (senior associate, architect); Michael Liporto, AIA (associate, architect); Mary Gallagher (associate, interior designer)
Interior Designer: Payette
Structural Engineer: LeMessurier
MEP Engineer: Van Zelm Engineers
Civil Engineer: Nitsch Engineering
Construction Manager: Barr & Barr
Landscape Architect: Michael van Valkenburgh Associates
Lighting Designer: Available Light
Façade Consultant: Studio NYL
Envelope and Waterproofing Consultant: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
AV/Vibration/Sound Consultant: Acentech
IT/Security Consultant: BVH
Code Consultant: Code Red
Graphics: SurfaceMatter Design
Size: 245,116 gross square feet
Cost: Withheld
Materials and Sources
Carpet: Tandus Centiva; Bentley
Ceilings: Armstrong (acoustical ceiling tile); Steel Ceilings (metal panel ceiling); 9 Wood (wood slat ceilings); Plasterform (glass fiber-reinforced gypsum sculpted ceiling panels)
Exterior Wall Systems: Zahner (custom exterior weathering steel screen); TAKTL (ultra high-performance concrete panels—5/8”-thick, rough 1 finish, custom graphite, concealed anchors); Plasterform (fiberglass-reinforced soffit panels); Alcotex (metal composite material wall panels—4mm panel with fire-rated core)
Flooring: Nora (rubber flooring); ARDEX (moisture mitigation)
Furniture: Figueras (lecture room seating)
HVAC: Dadanco (chilled beams)
Lighting: Finelite
Lighting Control Systems: Crestron
Masonry/Stone: Petersen TEGL (brick, Kolumba K96);Burlington Stone, Ashfield Stone (stone flooring)
Metal: Alcotex (interior aluminum composite metal panels); Construction Specialties (interior architectural louvers)
Paints/Finishes: Decoustics (interior acoustic ceiling treatment); TopAkustik (acoustical wood panels)
Photovoltaics/Other Renewables: Solar Edge; LG; UNIRAC
Roofing: Hydrotech (green roof); Sika Sarnafil (PVC roofing)
Walls: Plasterform (glass fiber-reinforced gypsum sculpted wall panels)
Windows/Curtainwalls/Doors: Novum Structures (structural silicone glazed curtainwall, custom-fabricated curtainwall, composite suspended AESS mullion system, mechanically retained with concealed stainless steel toggle fasteners; glazing manufactured by Vitro); Ellison Bronze (entrances; extruded-aluminum narrow-stile tempered-glass balanced
glazing manufactured by Vitro; fabricated by Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope); Sky-Frame (Sky-Frame 3 thermally broken sliding aluminum-framed glass doors; glazing manufactured by Saint-Gobain; fabricated by Thiele Glas); Schüco (glazed aluminum curtainwall, FW 60+.SI [super insulation]; glazing manufactured by Vitro; fabricated by Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope);Kawneer (System 2000 sloped glazing; glazing manufactured by Vitro; fabricated by Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope); Hope’s Steel Windows and Doors (interior gazing)
Project Description
This project is a winner in the 2019 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards
FROM THE AIA:
The Amherst College New Science Center provides state-of-the-art facilities and a flexible space to support the college’s science programs and students through the next century while reducing energy usage by 76 percent compared with a typical research building. The New Science Center is sited at the east edge of the new Greenway landscape, connecting the sciences to the rest of the Massachusetts campus. The building is organized around “the Commons,” a dramatic multistory atrium. The Commons creates a community of science through the five forms that make up the building: two four-story energy-intensive laboratory wings tucked into the east edge of the sloping site and three two- to three-story pavilions of low-intensity programming set in the landscape to the west, facing campus. A roof that floats above the Commons unifies the building while also providing a quiet visual datum for the undulating Pelham Hills beyond. An array of skylight monitors animate the roof, further signifying the building’s scientific purpose and its commitment to sustainable performance. The Commons’ roof monitors integrate architectural and mechanical elements that provide an overall comfort conditioning solution: chilled beams, radiant slabs, acoustic baffles, and a photovoltaic array. A central gap between the laboratory wings at one end of the Commons offers views to the east, drawing nature into the building. It also serves as a circulation nexus with an interior stormwater feature, fostering strong biophilic connections. The Greenway’s new surrounding landscape, when met with the transparent, west-facing glass façade, provides the Commons with remarkable views of native ecology, blurring the edges of the central living room and the outdoors. In turn, the gathering space feel like an extension of the outdoors.
Metrics Snapshot
Community engagement: Stakeholders were involved throughout most of the process.
Walk score: 76
Estimated occupants who commute via alternative transportation (biking, walking, mass transit): 87 percent
Estimated annual carbon emissions associated with the transportation of those coming to or returning from the building: 195 metric tons
Percentage of the site area designed to support vegetation: 58 percent
Percentage of site area supporting vegetation before project began: 61 percent
Percentage of landscaped areas covered by native or climate appropriate plants supporting native or migratory animals: 23 percent
Predicted annual consumption of potable water for all uses, excluding process water:3,156 gals/ occupant; 41 percent reduction from LEEDv4 baseline
Is potable water used for irrigation? no
Predicted peak month consumption of potable water for outdoor (irrigation) purposes:n/a
Actual annual consumption of process water (e.g. cooling towers): 1,537,700 gallons
Is greywater or blackwater captured for re-use? no
Percent of rainwater that can be managed on site: 58 percent
Water quality for any stormwater leaving the site: 80 percent of TSS removal
Cost per square foot: $760
Comparable cost per square foot for other, similar buildings in the region. (List source): $575.86/ SF for Williams College North (Payette)
Estimated annual operating cost reduction (identify baseline): 46 percent reduction in energy cost savings. This is for efficiency measures alone.
Life Cycle Analysis of the costs associated with measures taken to improve performance:
- 6.4 year payback on lighting, HVAC and laboratory exhaust ECMS
- 23 year payback for envelope
Predicted consumed energy use intensity (EUI): 91 kBtu/sq ft/yr
Predicted Net EUI: 89.5 kBtu/sq ft/yr
Predicted Net carbon emissions: 26.3 lb/sq ft/yr
Net carbon emissions refers to net purchased energy use (total energy use, less any energy generated on-site from renewable resources).
Predicted reduction from national average EUI for building type: 76 percent
Predicted lighting power density: 0.85 W/sq ft
Percentage of floor area or percentage of occupant work stations with direct views of the outdoors: 72 percent
Percentage of floor area or percentage of occupant work stations within 30 feet of operable windows: 14 percent
Percentage of floor area or percentage of occupant work stations achieving adequate light levels without the use of artificial lighting: Our sustainability consultant spoke with their modeling team and the daylight modeling that was done did not provide this information.
Is this project a workplace? yes
How many occupants per thermal zone or thermostat: 2
Percentage of occupants who can control their own light levels: 100 percent
Peak measured CO₂ levels during full occupancy: 675 ppm
CO₂ intensity: 10805 metric tons
Estimated carbon emissions associated with building construction: 97 lbs/sf
Percentage of materials reused from existing buildings by weight: 85
Percentage of project floor area, if any, that represents adapting existing buildings: 0 percent
Anticipated number of days the project can maintain function without utility power: 21 days
Percentage of power needs supportable by onsite power generation: 100 percent
Has a post-occupancy evaluation, including surveys of occupant comfort, been performed? no
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Meticulous craft, layered transparency and academic connectivity are the driving forces behind the new Science Center.
Faced with an aging science center unable to accommodate today’s technologies, equipment and pedagogies, Amherst College sought a new, forward-looking building that would create an open learning environment for the entire campus community for the next 100 years. The new Science Center anchors the eastern edge of the College’s beautiful hilltop campus. Set against the Pelham Hills beyond, a collection of five distinct building components is nestled into the new Campus Greenway. The components include two high energy laboratory wings tucked into the hillside to the east, and three pavilions of low intensity uses extending west toward the hilltop academic core. A central daylight-filled Commons serves as the building’s social heart, openly welcoming the entire academic community through a campus scaled gesture — an ultra-transparent window into science.
Aggressive energy targets and an integrated approach to sustainability were embedded from the earliest planning stages, impacting every aspect of the project from the programmatic organization to the design of the enclosure and systems. The building is designed to perform with an EUI of 91 kBtu / yr / SF, reporting a 76% reduction compared to 2030 baseline and 80% less energy than the now obsolete 50-year-old building it replaces.
Providing a new, integrated home for six science departments, the Science Center challenges the historical typology of insular academic science buildings. Creating an interior environment focused on architectural and cultural transparency, the building actively celebrates the teaching and research within cultivating a vibrant interdisciplinary community.
