The Smithsonian Institution opened the doors of its greenest building to date on Friday, Sept. 19: the Charles McC. Mathias Laboratory on the campus of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md. Designed to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum building in the Institution, the Mathias Lab will emit 37% less CO2 than a comparable lab that does not meet LEED-certification standards.
Before the new Mathias Lab, almost two-thirds of SERC’s office space and one-fourth of its lab space were housed in trailers. The disjointed environment hindered communication and the kind of experiments scientists were able to do.
“The new lab provides us flexible space for future cutting-edge research,” said SERC Director Anson “Tuck” Hines. “Biogenomics, conservation biology, global change—these are all at the forefront of environmental science today. The new lab gives our scientists the ability to explore new territory in a more sustainable way.”
Building a sustainable research laboratory is more difficult than building a sustainable home, office space or school, largely because research environments are highly energy intensive and typically consume three-to-four times as much electricity as other buildings. However, research efforts on climate change, invasive species and conserving the Chesapeake Bay are vital to preserving healthy ecosystems throughout the rest of the world. The challenge for lead architect Howard Skoke of EwingCole was to enhance these research projects while slashing their environmental footprint.
On the south side of the lab, this 4.65-acre constructed wetland acts as rain garden to filter stormwater. The wetland also receives irrigation as part of the lab’s system to recycle 100 percent of its water. Photo: Monaca Noble / Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
The finished lab’s reduced carbon footprint comes from a substantial reliance on renewables. A geothermal well field with 250 wells provides a highly efficient heat exchange for the lab’s HVAC system, while a 352-kilowatt array of solar panels provides water heating and covers 15 percent of the building’s annual electricity expense. Energy efficiency also received a boost from passive solar lighting, a result of its open interior design and large windows, as well as automated lighting controls and strong insulation. In total, the Mathias Lab will save an estimated 42 percent on energy costs each year compared to a lab without LEED certification.
The lab will also recycle 100% of its water through innovative interconnection of systems. All domestic “gray water” will go to a wastewater treatment plant on the SERC campus within walking distance of the lab. From there, it will be sent back to the lab for reuse in fire protection, irrigation and the water-closet supply. Some of the water will nourish the 4.5-acre constructed wetland on the lab’s south side. Three cisterns will capture rainwater to irrigate the wetland, which will filter stormwater and provide a living habitat for native plants and animals.
The majority of the project’s $57 million funding came from Congress. Construction began in May 2011 with the addition of 69,000 sf of new laboratory and office space. Renovation of the existing 23,000-sf laboratory completed the project in fall 2014.
“Mac Mathias would have loved this building as much as the research that is going to go on inside it,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). “This new lab will dramatically advance research efforts on conserving the Chesapeake and understanding climate change. Highly energy efficient, heavily reliant on renewable energy sources and quite beautiful, the lab is a statement on how the built and natural environments can continually complement one another.”
“As a strong supporter of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, I’m pleased that this new sustainable research facility will provide men and women at the forefront of environmental science with the space needed to conduct their critical work,” said Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). “Throughout my career, I’ve been proud to support investments in research and innovation, and I look forward to joining the SERC team as they open the new Mathias Lab.”
EwingCole was the design firm for the project. The general contractor was Hensel Phelps Construction Company.
Related Stories
| Nov 16, 2010
Architecture Billings Index: inquiries for new projects remain extremely high
The new projects inquiry index was 61.7, down slightly from a nearly three-year high mark of 62.3 in September, according to the Architecture Billings Index (ABI). However, the ABI dropped nearly two points in October; the October ABI score was 48.7, down from a reading of 50.4 the previous month. The ABI reflects the approximate nine to 12 month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending.
| Nov 16, 2010
Brazil Olympics spurring green construction
Brazil's green building industry will expand in the coming years, spurred by construction of low-impact venues being built for the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires arenas built for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro meet international standards for low-carbon emissions and energy efficiency. This has boosted local interest in developing real estate with lower environmental impact than existing buildings. The timing couldn’t be better: the Brazilian government is just beginning its long-term infrastructure expansion program.
| Nov 16, 2010
Green building market grows 50% in two years; Green Outlook 2011 report
The U.S. green building market is up 50% from 2008 to 2010—from $42 billion to $55 billion-$71 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction's Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green; in five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction.
| Nov 16, 2010
Calculating office building performance? Yep, there’s an app for that
123 Zero build is a free tool for calculating the performance of a market-ready carbon-neutral office building design. The app estimates the discounted payback for constructing a zero emissions office building in any U.S. location, including the investment needed for photovoltaics to offset annual carbon emissions, payback calculations, estimated first costs for a highly energy efficient building, photovoltaic costs, discount rates, and user-specified fuel escalation rates.
| Nov 16, 2010
CityCenter’s new Harmon Hotel targeted for demolition
MGM Resorts officials want to demolish the unopened 27-story Harmon Hotel—one of the main components of its brand new $8.5 billion CityCenter development in Las Vegas. In 2008, inspectors found structural work on the Harmon didn’t match building plans submitted to the county, with construction issues focused on improperly placed steel reinforcing bar. In January 2009, MGM scrapped the building’s 200 condo units on the upper floors and stopped the tower at 27 stories, focusing on the Harmon having just 400 hotel rooms. With the Lord Norman Foster-designed building mired in litigation, construction has since been halted on the interior, and the blue-glass tower is essentially a 27-story empty shell.
| Nov 16, 2010
Where can your firm beat the recession? Try any of these 10 places
Wondering where condos and rental apartments will be needed? Where companies are looking to rent office space? Where people will need hotel rooms, retail stores, and restaurants? Newsweek compiled a list of the 10 American cities best situated for economic recovery. The cities fall into three basic groups: Texas, the New Silicon Valleys, and the Heartland Honeys. Welcome to the recovery.
| Nov 16, 2010
Landscape architecture challenges Andrés Duany’s Congress for New Urbanism
Andrés Duany, founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, adopted the ideas, vision, and values of the early 20th Century landscape architects/planners John Nolen and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., to launch a movement that led to more than 300 new towns, regional plans, and community revitalization project commissions for his firm. However, now that there’s a societal buyer’s remorse about New Urbanism, Duany is coming up against a movement that sees landscape architecture—not architecture—as the design medium more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience.
| Nov 16, 2010
Just for fun: Words that architects use
If you regularly use such words as juxtaposition, folly, truncated, and articulation, you may be an architect. Architects tend to use words rarely uttered during normal conversations. In fact, 62% of all the words that come out of an architects mouth could be replaced by a simpler and more widely known word, according to this “report.” Review this list of designer words, and once you manage to work them into daily conversation, you’re on your way to becoming a bonafide architect.
| Nov 16, 2010
NFRC approves technical procedures for attachment product ratings
The NFRC Board of Directors has approved technical procedures for the development of U-factor, solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), and visible transmittance (VT) ratings for co-planar interior and exterior attachment products. The new procedures, approved by unanimous voice vote last week at NFRC’s Fall Membership Meeting in San Francisco, will add co-planar attachments such as blinds and shades to the group’s existing portfolio of windows, doors, skylights, curtain walls, and window film.
