Yale University Sculpture Building and Parking Garage

The LEED Platinum Certified Yale University Sculpture Building and Parking Garage is an extraordinary example of excellence in green design and construction. Earning Environmental Design + Construction’s 2008 Excellence in Design Award in the new Educational category, awards’ judge Jim Nicolow calls this project “a striking jewel box of a building that seamlessly integrates sustainable design strategies.”

A leader in academic greening, Yale’s use of sustainable building techniques and materials in the 194,000-square-foot Sculpture Building and Parking Garage project reflects a commitment to construct an environmentally conscious building. The innovative construction techniques and materials that were utilized to make the Sculpture Building complex a sustainable structure recently earned the building an esteemed spot on the list of just 59 LEED Platinum Certified buildings in the country (as of application time). After 18 months of construction, the illuminated jewel on the Ivy League campus engages the community and extends the university’s extraordinary arts district.

Green Design Elements

Comprehensive site planning contributes to the water and energy efficiency of the building. Peter Aaron/Esto Photographics, Inc.

The experienced project team worked tirelessly with the client to incorporate numerous green design elements and building techniques into the structure. A custom designed Schüco curtain wall system was designed with a high R-value for thermal resistance. Though the entire façade of the Sculpture Building is made of clear glass, in between the double-panes of glass is a layer of Nanogel, a translucent substance and highly efficient insulating material. To maintain a predominantly transparent envelope, without compromising the building’s high level of energy performance, a curtain wall of triple glazing and insulating translucent spandrel panels has been combined with an exterior sunshading system to reduce solar heat gain in the interior.

Another of the project’s environmentally friendly elements is a “diffusion ventilation system.” The building will employ a displacement ventilation system, in which air is introduced at low velocities and at higher than usual supply temperatures for increased energy efficiency and improved thermal comfort. With this system, the air drops in from above, flows across the floor, and then back into return air ducts (grillwork dotted with tiny holes), expecting to save about 40 percent in energy costs compared to conventional systems.

Located on a former brownfield site, the Yale Sculpture Building features a green roof. Peter Aaron/Esto Photographics, Inc.

In an effort to practice rainwater reclamation, stormwater from the Sculpture Building will be collected in a rain garden and in underground cisterns, which will then be channeled back into the building to provide water to flush toilets and mechanical equipment. The gallery’s green grass roof and exterior walls clad in reclaimed western red cedar from 100-year-old fermentation barrels are distinguishing as well as environmentally friendly features.

Another innovation in construction used in this project was the use of geopiles. Because the earth below the construction site did not have enough capacity to hold the proposed structures, rock columns were used. An alternative to standard steel or precast concrete pylons, these geopiles not only used materials that were already on site, but were significantly less expensive and very fast to construct.

Green project highlights include:

• Construction and Demolition Waste Management: 88.65 percent recycling rate; $169,120 savings on tipping fees.
• Indoor Air Quality: Comprehensive Indoor Air Quality plan including protection of all HVAC equipment and absorptive building materials and selection of low-VOC materials.
• Energy Efficiency: Total building energy use reduction of 40 percent.
• Water Efficiency: Low-flow fixtures, toilets and waterless urinals; 46 percent reduction in total water use; and 100,000 gallons of reclaimed stormwater.
• Roof Design: 93 percent of roof covered in green roof and reflective white membrane stormwater collection.

In the construction of its Sculpture Building, Yale sought to look beyond just the basics of sustainability, and implemented cutting-edge systems and materials, setting the bar for colleges and universities across the nation. Proving that the esteemed LEED Platinum Certification is attainable when working with an experienced and knowledgeable team of experts, Yale stands out amongst the crowd with its level of achievement.

Information was provided by Shawmut Design and Construction.

Sidebar

Yale University Sculpture Building Complex

EID Award Category: Educational
Completion Date: May 2007
Size: 194,000-square-foot complex
Location: New Haven, Conn.


Congratulations to:

General Contractor: Shawmut Design and Construction Construction Manager: Shawmut Design and Construction Lead Architect: KieranTimberlake Associates, LLP Lead Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Major Subcontractors: Manifort Brothers, Inc., Massey Plate    Glass and Aluminum, Enterprise Plumbing and Heating


Materials

Building Envelope: curtain wall System, Shuco; Glass, Viracon;    Exterior Shading louvers, Shuco; Spandrel wall panels, Kalwall

Ceiling: MDF Ceiling Panels, Sierra Pine

Energy Efficiency: Daylight dimming, Lutron

Flooring: Concrete, Suzio Concrete

HVAC System and Appliances: Displacement ventilation, Mammoth

Insulation or ICFs: Gypsum Wallboard, USG

Structural Steel / Miscellaneous Metals: Nucor SteelMasonry:    CMU Block, Westbrook Block

Wood: Reclaimed Cedar, A Reclaimed Lumber Company;    site benches, Citilogs Inc.

ED+C’s 2008 Excellence in Design Award Finalists

Main building entrance with trellis made from reclaimed wood, photograph by Cesar Rubio.

The Mills College Betty Irene Moore Natural Sciences Building

Completion Date: June 2007

Size: 26,000 square feet

Location: Oakland, Calif.

Submitted by: Mills College

The new Betty Irene Moore Natural Sciences Building at Mills College announces its intentions clearly and eloquently: Within moments of stepping through the arbor-shaded front door, one is drawn to features that showcase achievement, inspiration, conservation, and sustainability. The building’s intensively energy-efficient design has earned a LEED Platinum rating. The $17 million structure is almost 90 percent more energy efficient than a typical lab in the Bay Area and 45 percent more energy efficient than required by state law. It features a photovoltaic system that provides 30 percent of the building’s electrical needs. The building was designed by San Francisco-based EHDD Architecture, campus architect Karen Fiene, and design consultant Peter Dodge.

The SRB’s design maintains openness and transparency.

Student Resource Building, University of California, Santa Barbara

Completion Date: January 2007

Size: 69,500 square feet

Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.

Submitted by: Sasaki Associates Inc.

The new Student Resources Building (SRB) consolidates key division services while giving student groups a home base from which to promote and stage activities. The resulting design maintains a high degree of openness and transparency throughout the building, creating a welcoming atmosphere and fostering interaction and community-building between the diverse student groups, faculty and staff. Located on the Pardall Corridor, the primary east-west pedestrian and bicycle path to the campus, the SRB is a component of the major arrival gateway that connects the adjacent Isla Vista community to the core campus. Entering the Forum, daylight is decanted through clerestory windows. Delicate wood screens to filter light act as a counterpoint to the solidity of the building’s concrete shell. The Forum functions as the key component of the natural smoke ventilation system. A system of operable louvers, pivot windows, and doors eliminates the need for mechanical ventilation.

The Camille Kendall Academic Complex is an icon of resource conservation.

University System of Maryland, Camille Kendall Academic Center

Completion Date: August 2007

Size: 195,000 square feet

Location: Rockville, Md.

Submitted by: Cannon Design

The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) is a University System of Maryland (USM)-sponsored collaboration that consolidates educational programs from various Maryland public degree-granting institutions to one suburban facility. Cannon Design incorporated sustainable features that qualified the University of Maryland to receive LEED Gold certification for the Kendall Center. One of six new buildings in the campus master plan updated in 2002, the Camille Kendall Academic Center is a learning resource center. A five-story atrium is a key feature of this facility, which also houses 45 classrooms, more than 120 offices, dining service with full kitchen, and central plants for heating and cooling. An intensely energy-savings-driven project, the Kendall Academic Center is a noteworthy model for the conservation of resources.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Turman Hall, Emory University (Ayers/Saint/Gross, Inc.)  
   
Commons Center, Vanderbilt University (Bruner Cott)

Hector P. Garcia Middle School (Perkins+Will)


Special thanks to our 2008 judges. ED+C’s other 2008 Excellence in Design Awards Winners can be found on pages 18-19. Future issues of ED+C will cover the winners in these categories. For previous winners, visit the ED+C website. Details on the 2009 competition are coming soon to www.EDCmag.com.