Page 23 - Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings-Volume 3

this diagram is good for daylighting all office space and provides the opportunity for natural ven- tilation from one side. It also provides ready accessibility to the lab space from the office space.
The design team realized that energy use could be significantly reduced by treating the office space to optimize daylighting and natural ventilation, implying a thin building, and separating the lab spaces so that their mechanical ventilation requirements could be more efficiently applied. The resulting diagram could be structured like the “hybrid scheme” in the figure on the opposite page—separating the office space from the laboratory space by a courtyard. Because of the be- nign climate of La Jolla, there is virtually a very easy connection between office and lab “wings”. In fact, aside from the clear advantages for low energy demand, the courtyard space would also have the benefit of increasing the opportunity for casual interaction among research groups and provide a collective work space (on nice days) for the entire JCVI community.
With the adoption of this lab planning approach, the basic parti became a three-story office wing (there was general office administration space in addition to lab office space) separated from a one-story laboratory wing (with a one story mechanical equipment space above) by an exterior courtyard—all topped with a sloped structure spanning from the lower laboratory wing to the higher office wing, which supported the required number of solar photovoltaic panels necessary to achieve the ZNE performance targeted.
This parti would have greater overall exterior wall area but the office wing could have a much lower floor-to-floor height since it was separate from the laboratory, which requires a relatively high floor-to-floor height. The difference in cost was found to roughly balance out when all the tradeoffs of the hybrid scheme were accounted for.
The on-site parking requirement necessitated the insertion of a parking level below the building. But rather than having it fully below grade as a basement level, which would need to be mechani- cally ventilated, the parking level is raised up partially above grade. This provides the possibility of natural ventilation and avoids the fan energy load.
The resulting floor plans appear on the next page.
(Below) Basic building mass- ing based on the hybrid lab planning diagram:
Office wing (left); Laboratory wing (center); sloped structure supporting solar photovoltaic panels (right)
(Courtesy of ZGF Architects)
Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings, Volume 3
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THE J. CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE
CASE STUDY NO. 12