A LEED Platinum laboratory committed to finding energy solutions for a changing world

UC Santa Barbara, Henley Hall, Institute for Energy Efficiency

Santa Barbara, CA, USA

The new Institute for Energy Efficiency at UC Santa Barbara provides an interdisciplinary research facility committed to the development of solutions that will contribute to a sustainable, energy efficient future.

The new LEED Platinum certified Henley Hall serves as the hub of the energy research activity on campus, housing 17 laboratories, 34 faculty and postdoctoral offices, 9 administration offices, ample group office space, and a lecture theater. A key design outcome for this 55,000ft² building was to provide flexible spaces that allow for experimental work and collaborative research to take place within them.

Challenge

Driven by the university’s ambitious energy efficiency goal, the project pursued the highest level of LEED certification for the laboratory. To achieve the LEED Platinum rating the project had to meet a stringent set of standards and earn points in areas such as energy, water efficiency and indoor environmental quality. This was a particularly challenging imperative as laboratories are generally the most energy-intensive spaces on campus.  Innovative sustainability strategies include low carbon energy with natural ventilation, biophilic design for the lab space  and one of the first campus buildings to complete embodied carbon LCA analysis.

Solution

Encouraging collaborative research was key to design in this building. Factors considered by our engineers included noise and light levels, humidity and temperature, and the space itself. Ensuring the correct balance in all these areas is key to engineering an effective collaborative space for research.

To support the university’s commitment to sustainability, Buro Happold worked with the wider design team to incorporate numerous technologies and design features. These included low-voltage LED lighting and intelligent energy monitoring and control systems with interactive displays. Our expert team also applied tried and tested methods of improving the efficiency of each building by harnessing natural resources, such as daylight and fresh air, in new ways.

Value

UC Santa Barbara’s Henley Hall, Institute for Energy Efficiency achieved LEED Platinum certification. To ultimately achieve a low energy facility is an extraordinary achievement, especially for a laboratory building that requires highly controlled environments in which to carry out energy intensive experiments. Always committed to achieving our client’s goals, this was a priority that kept in our sights as we continued to develop and implement our engineering strategies for the Institute.

The look and feel of this new research facility both encourages collaboration and learning, as well as giving the university the flexibility to adapt to future research needs.