Page 22 - Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings-Volume 3

CASE STUDY NO. 12
THE J. CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE
(Below left and right) Typical laboratory planning diagrams. (Below center) Hybrid diagram selected for JCVI.
(Courtesy of ZGF Architects and Jacobs Laboratory Plan- ning)
Design Process and Low Energy Design Strategies
The organization of the principal elements of the building program of office and laboratory space on the limited site was the principal consideration in the building’s planning. The intersection of classic lab planning with the site constraints and the energy systems design resulted in the basic building form. Additional program elements for on-site parking requirements and mechanical space were accommodated within this basic form.
Planning Concept and General Design Considerations
Inevitably, to achieve ZNE the building would be required to have a very large solar array maxi- mized for the number of panels. A concept was developed where the array would be a separate structure floating above the roof of the building and with the best possible tilt and azimuth for high production. This would allow flexibility in organizing the building’s mechanical equipment space under the array, and with the general lab planning as well. The implication of this scheme was that the building would be organized along an east-west axis on the predominantly north-south site geometry, with the large array tilted toward the south.
The lab planning was therefore free to take on the preferred organization of the three basic components of lab space: lab bench space, lab support and lab office space (open and closed offices). Again, the design team considered the implications for energy use to choose the basic lab planning scheme.
The traditional lab planning diagram, known as the “laminated scheme”, places each of the three space components in layers. (See the diagram below for the most common layer order.) Then the lab building is created by extruding this diagram to any length at 10’6” increments for each lab planning block. Different size research groups are easily accommodated. The drawback to this diagram is that it generates a wide building with little opportunity for daylighting or natural ventilation in the office space.
The “neighborhood scheme” places the lab support inboard with the lab bench space and the open office outboard with the private lab offices. Less flexible for varying size of research groups,
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Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings: Volume 3