Clean, green and cost-effective: Considering sustainable lab design

摘要

For the past several years, heightened awareness of the effects of pollution, resource consumption and the interaction of the built and natural environments has inspired public- and private-sector organizations to adopt "green" or sustainable design criteria for many types of new and existing buildings. Benchmarks, such as the U.S. Green Building Council's popular Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, have provided the guidance that owners need to organize the evaluation of cost-effective, functionally feasible strategies for improving their buildings' environmental performance. Laboratories and other types of R&D facilities, however, possess many inherent characteristics that are not compatible with most "conventional" green design strategies or LEED office building-oriented requirements. Many contain diverse spaces ranging from the highly specialized research and support areas to administrative offices, conference rooms, and their support spaces.