Arizona State University’s Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7, completed in December 2021, was constructed with numerous innovative sustainability elements.
The building team worked to support ASU’s carbon neutrality by 2035 goal. It took a holistic approach to sustainability and carbon neutrality on all decisions, according to GC McCarthy Building Companies. The result is a building with an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) that is roughly 50% below baseline.
The $192 million, 281,000 sf, high-performance research facility fosters an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge generation and leading-edge research, including the sustainable use of food, water, and energy. Labs include spaces for biological sciences, engineering, life sciences, and sustainability, as well as dry lab space for computing, cyber-security, engineering design and fabrication, and robotics.
Notable sustainability features include:
- 42-foot architectural columns elevate the building entrance, creating significant shade areas and positioning the building to capture wind for natural ventilation.
- Radiant cooling system combines chilled beams, chilled ceilings, and chilled sails, providing comfort for occupants and supporting low-flow ventilation.
- Water efficiency strategies include: Use of Arizona’s Salt River Project non-potable canal water on the site’s landscape; water-saving drip irrigation and “smart” irrigation controls; hardscape designed so all rainfall conveys to planting areas; and the capture of mechanical system condensate water to irrigate plants.
- A 40% fly ash concrete mix that met structural integrity measures and provides a consistent aesthetic finish.
- First building in Arizona to use BubbleDeck, a void form structural deck system that uses a patented integration technique linking air, steel, and concrete in a two-way structural slab, resulting in less concrete and a lighter structure and foundation system.
- Inspired by self-shading pleats of the Sonoran cactus, the exterior skin takes shape in large GFRC rainscreen panels over a prefabricated building envelope. Skin sensors installed around the exterior track heat transfer throughout building’s lifecycle.
The structure now serves as the gateway to the Arizona State University Tempe campus and faces one of the busiest intersections in the Metro Phoenix area. The building will house Global Futures, the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service, School of Sustainability, and the Institute of Human Origins, in addition to public outreach and exhibit space. The building will also include classrooms and a conference center with a 389-seat presentation hall.
Owner and/or developer: Arizona State University
Design architect: Architekton l Grimshaw
Architect of record: Architekton l Grimshaw
MEP engineer: BuroHappold Engineering
Structural engineer: BuroHappold Engineering
General contractor/construction manager: McCarthy Building Companies
Sustainability Consultants: Thornton Tomasetti
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Nov 18, 2021
2021 K-12 School Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. K-12 school facilities sector
PBK, Gilbane, AECOM, and DLR Group head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest K-12 school facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.
2021 Building Team Awards | Nov 17, 2021
Caltech's new neuroscience building unites scientists, engineers to master the human brain
The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena wins a Gold Award in BD+C's 2021 Building Team Awards.
Designers / Specifiers / Landscape Architects | Nov 16, 2021
‘Desire paths’ and college campus design
If a campus is not as efficient as it could be, end users will use their feet to let designers know about it.
K-12 Schools | Nov 14, 2021
New Blackwater Community School completed for Gila River Indian Community, in Arizona
Construction on the new Blackwater Community School, a two-story structure on the Gila River Indian Community, located southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, was completed on August 31, 2021.
K-12 Schools | Nov 10, 2021
K-12 school design innovation: 'Learning Everywhere' and the mobile classroom
Last September, AIA San Francisco awarded the Professional Category in its 2021 Future Classroom Competition to a five-person team from Culver City, Calif.-based Berliner Architects. The firm was selected for its “Learning Everywhere” idea that features a mobile strategy for education at school, home, on field trips, and in transit. BD+C's John Caulfield discuss that concept with Richard Berliner, AIA, Principal, Berliner Architects.
Cladding and Facade Systems | Oct 26, 2021
14 projects recognized by DOE for high-performance building envelope design
The inaugural class of DOE’s Better Buildings Building Envelope Campaign includes a medical office building that uses hybrid vacuum-insulated glass and a net-zero concrete-and-timber community center.
Education Facilities | Oct 20, 2021
Kenneth K.T. Yen Humanities Building completes for The Pennington School
Voith & Mactavish Architects designed the project.
| Oct 14, 2021
The future of mass timber construction, with Swinerton's Timberlab
In this exclusive for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield sat down with three Timberlab leaders to discuss the launch of the firm and what factors will lead to greater mass timber demand.
University Buildings | Sep 28, 2021
Designing for health sciences education: Specialty instruction and human anatomy labs
It is a careful balance within any educational facility to provide both multidisciplinary, multiuse spaces and special-use spaces that serve particular functions.
| Sep 20, 2021
K-12 school design trends for 2021, with Wold's Vaughn Dierks
K-12 school design exert Vaughn Dierks discusses the latest K-12 school design trends and needs.
