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The university implements a broadened thermal comfort range in this building compared to most education structures. Temperatures in offices and labs are kept between 68 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit and between 64 and 79 in public spaces. “That temperature gradient has a significant impact,” on energy cost savings, says Adrian DiCastri, a partner with architectsAlliance.

Building users can self-regulate spaces with manual controls for windows, air diffusers, and lighting. The university gave all occupants instructions on when, for example, to open a window or when to open air diffusers.

Most of the building’s furnishings are covered with a DesignTex fabric developed by William McDonough. The fabric involves a more efficient dyeing process and reduction of wastewater.

 

The diagrams above and below show the offices and classrooms adjacent to the courtyard atrium. In summer, cool air is delivered from fan-coil units through diffusers that are individually controlled by room occupants. Cool air is also brought into the atrium from the ground. The planted roof allows for evaporative cooling in summer, absorbing as much heat as a black or gray membrane roof would. In natural ventilation conditions (diagram, below), cool air enters the rooms through operable windows. Warm air rises and enters the atrium, where it is exhausted through the clerestory. Passively cooled air enters the atrium floor from the underground plenum.

The architects claim that their material selection will save 1,340 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, and building systems operations will save 1,125 tons of greenhouse emissions per year. Over a 75-year life span, the building will save 85,715 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The estimated operating and maintenance costs over 75 years are $33.3 million, as opposed to $83.9 million if the building were conventionally designed.