PROJECT DATA PROJECT NAME:
The Courtyard at Given
PROJECT TYPE:
New Construction: Research Support, Administrative, and Student Services Facility
LOCATION:
Burlington, Vermont
CLIENT TYPE
College of Medicine
SITE:
Enclosed four-story courtyard in the existing Given Medical Building
SIZE:
25,000 SF (Building) 33,000 SF (Project Area)
OCCUPANCY:
175
PROGRAM:
Private offices, cubicles, guest offices, conference rooms, open workspace, kitchenettes, secure storage
COMPLETION:
August 2009
CONSTRUCTION COST:
$8.9 million $270/SF
TOTAL PROJECT COST:
$12.2 million
HONORS:
LEED Gold, Commercial Interiors, 2009 Efficiency Vermont Honor Award, Best of the Best in Commercial Building Design and Construction, New Construction >20,000 SF, 2010 AIA Vermont Merit Award, Excellence in Architecture, 2010
PLANNING THE NEED In 2007 the College of Medicine identified an increasing demand for additional office, laboratory, and student services space to support the growing enterprise.
SITE SELECTION The College explored several sites for new construction and various building renovation options. Several factors including lack of space for new development and renovation on the tight medical campus site, potential loss of parking, and a desire for a central location made the use of the enclosed four-story courtyard within the existing Given Medical Building the most attractive and feasible option.
BUILDING WITHIN A BUILDING Constructing a new facility within an enclosed courtyard had a number of benefits. Sharing the Given Building’s existing infrastructure including egress corridors and stairwells, elevators, restrooms, entrance vestibules, chilled water, and mechanical, electrical, network, and maintenance closets allowed the courtyard to be used entirely for new office space. A free standing building providing equivalent office space would have required nearly 5,000 additional square feet for those functions. The costs and environmental impact associated with developing a new site and utilities were reduced, and the energy losses associated with the building envelope walls of a free-standing structure were eliminated. No onsite parking was lost, which would have required the construction of a new parking garage.
PROGRAM Efficiently using the four story courtyard without compromising sustainability, flexibility, natural daylighting, and a healthy working environment was the goal of the design team. The new facility provides offices and workspace for 175 occupants, conference rooms for shared use among all the Given Building occupants, guest offices, and a prominent and accessible location for the admissions and development offices. Both the client and the design team recognized the value of celebrating the courtyard and creating a central gathering and community space rather than maximizing the square footage for offices.
COMMUNITY Beyond providing needed office space, the Courtyard at Given has transformed the way the existing facility functions, brought life to a previously underutilized space, and united the medical campus. The facility has been embraced by the students, faculty and staff who now work and gather there and the College has experienced a renewed sense of community.
DESIGN DAYLIGHTING Several strategies were employed to maximize the use of natural daylight. Two free-standing wings increase the building perimeter and provide space between the existing building and new wings for light to filter deep into the courtyard. Open cubicles line the interior of the glass façade with partitioned private offices clustered in the center, allowing light to permeate each wing. The building steps back at upper levels to allow as much daylight to reach the depths of the courtyard as possible. Shifting the wings to the east maximized the morning sun.
ENVELOPE Protection from the elements allowed the application of materials and building massing not typically feasible in our northern climate. Without the need for thermal or moisture barriers, the design team took advantage of unconventional stepping, angles, and glazing details.
MATERIALS The window mullions and color palette of spandrel glass and dark floor banding reference the original International Style design detailing of the courtyard interior. Substantial glazing maintains visual access, daylighting, and a sense of openness within the courtyard space. Durable and long lasting materials, recycled content in the steel and concrete, low emitting paints, carpets and sealants, the use of regional materials, and adherence to UVM’s construction waste reduction and recycling program demonstrate the projects commitment to sustainability.
MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL EFFICIENCY The heat recovery ventilation system includes a component which captures heat generated by the new building occupants and their computers to heat the surrounding courtyard space. The under-floor air delivery system is more efficient than traditional overhead air delivery, and individual controls and occupancy and CO2 sensors reduce operating costs. Energy efficient lighting and controls result in a low power density of 0.4 watts/SF compared to typical values at 1.0 watt/SF.
FLEXIBILITY The ability to reconfigure the floor plan based on the College’s fluctuating space, funding, and support needs was an important design consideration. Demountable partitions and a raised floor system with under floor HVAC air delivery and power distribution ensures the building remains an effective and efficient part of the College of Medicine’s facilities infrastructure.
CAMPUS PLAN & EXISTING BUILDING
Fletcher Allen Health Care Medical Education Center Dana Medical Library Converse Hall
0
40 80
160
GIVEN MEDICAL BUILDING
Health Sciences Research Facility
CAMPUS PLAN AND SITE
Rowell Hall
College of Medicine Campus
The Given Medical Building is located at the heart of the College of Medicine campus. The primary north-south and east-west pedestrian routes meet within the facility. It’s location, size, and historical significance make it an integral and enduring part of the College.
EXISTING BUILDING South Elevation: Designed in the 1960’s by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the Given Building is the largest research facility in the State of Vermont and the core administrative and laboratory facility for the College. The International Style building is considered historically significant by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
EXISTING COURTYARD Since the addition of the glass roof enclosure in 2001 to provide a temporary library facility, the four-story courtyard space had been used as spillover office and storage space at less than optimal efficiency.
PERSPECTIVE THE NEW COURTYARD AT GIVEN OFFICE BUILDING
EXISTING GIVEN BUILDING
OVERHEAD CUTAWAY VIEW EAST CUTAWAY VIEW
CENTRAL STAIR
NEW COMMUNITY SPACE
CONSTRUCTION OCCUPIED BUILDING The existing lecture halls, offices and laboratories in the Given Building remained occupied and fully operational throughout construction. Much attention was paid to phasing work during off hours to minimize disruption, sound and safety concerns, and temporary closure of corridors. Safety netting was installed along the courtyard perimeter to protect the historically significant facade and protect occupants from welding activities.
FOUNDATION To span a high voltage power line and mechanical tunnel under the courtyard a two-foot deep mat foundation was used at the north wing. Traditional footings were used at the south wing.
COURTYARD FACADE Careful steps were taken to minimize alterations to the historically significant faรงade for construction of the connector bridges.
PUBLIC VIEWING Glass viewing panels were installed along the first level of the courtyard to allow passers-by to watch as their new facility was constructed.
SHIP IN A BOTTLE The glass enclosure over the courtyard required that all building components and materials including steel, concrete, cranes, and construction equipment be maneuvered through an 8’x8’ opening made in the building exterior and down an existing 7’ wide corridor to access the project site at the core of the building.
BUILDING COMPONENTS Construction within the courtyard required that all structural members be of a length to maneuver through the access corridor and light enough to be erected with an electric crane. Structural column members were spliced once inside the courtyard.
EXISTING FIRST LEVEL
2 4
6
1 ENCLOSED COURTYARD 2 CAFETERIA
1
3 NORTH-SOUTH THOROUGHFARE 4 EAST-WEST THOROUGHFARE 5 AUDITORIUM 6 GLAZING ALONG COURTYARD
0
20
40
80
3
6
5
3
4
EXISTING GIVEN BUILDING EXISTING CIRCULATION ROUTES
ISOLATED COURTYARD Glazing along the courtyard’s ground floor isolated it from the surrounding corridors and caused an inefficient and confusing jog in the primary east-west pedestrian route across campus.
NEW FIRST LEVEL
4
3 1 OFFICE WINGS 2 CENTRAL STAIR
1
1 2
4 CAFETERIA 5 EVENT SPACE
5 6
8
3 INFORMAL CAFETERIA SEATING
6 NORTH-SOUTH THOROUGHFARE 7 EAST-WEST THOROUGHFARE 8 AUDITORIUM
7
NEW OFFICE SPACE NEW CIRCULATION ROUTES EXISTING GIVEN BUILDING EXISTING CIRCULATION ROUTES
A NEW COLLEGE CENTER Removing the glazing between the courtyard’s ground floor and the surrounding corridors allowed it to become a central circulation node and gathering space for the College. Two office wings and a ceremonial stair frame the new community space. Seating in the courtyard encourages its use for social and impromptu interactions, as well as more formal gatherings and events. The courtyard’s connection to the existing building was further enhanced by opening the cafeteria to the courtyard’s new informal gathering area.
EXISTING FLOOR PLANS CIRCULATION AND ORIENTATION The symmetry of the existing building, long corridors, and lack of orienting views to the exterior made the existing Given Medical building challenging and time consuming to navigate.
0
40
80
LEVEL 2 NEW OFFICE SPACE NEW CIRCULATION ROUTES EXISTING GIVEN BUILDING EXISTING CIRCULATION ROUTES
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 4
NEW FLOOR PLANS CIRCULATION The Courtyard has become a central circulation node linking all sides of campus. The elevated walkways that connect to the existing building at each level not only provide convenient access to restrooms and elevators, they also create new pathways through the Courtyard, reducing travel distances and linking previously isolated programs. The new routes facilitate interaction and conversations, and result in a more connected campus.
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 4
ORIENTATION The open stair provides an improved pedestrian experience and offers new views and perspectives of the courtyard and the existing Given Building. With varying facades, subtle lack of symmetry between the wings, and unique bridge locations at each level, the Courtyard provides occupants and visitors with a frame of reference for navigating through the Given Building.
NEW FLOOR PLANS FIRST LEVEL
1 5
7
6
2
2
5
7
6
2 8
4
4
7
2
7 1
SECOND LEVEL
5
4
3
2
7
7
8
9 2
5
7
8
4
6
2
7
NEW OFFICE SPACE NEW CIRCULATION ROUTES EXISTING GIVEN BUILDING 0
20
40
EXISTING CIRCULATION ROUTES
THIRD LEVEL
5/6
7
7
2 7
3 2
10 2
2
2 4 7
7
FOURTH LEVEL
5/6
7 2
4
3
2
7
1 OPEN COURTYARD
6 WORK ROOM
2 OFFICE
7 OPEN OFFICE
3 CONFERENCE ROOM
8 STORAGE
4 RECEPTION
9 GUEST OFFICE
5 KITCHENETTE
10 SHARED OFFICE
7 2
9 4
7
5
10 6 7
ENERGY RECOVERY VENTILATION UNIT The Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) Unit uses an energy wheel to reclaim sensible and latent energy from the building return air and introduces this energy into the outdoor air before it is delivered into the building supply air. The approximate recovery efficiency of this unit is 80%. The ERV unit is operated only when needed to satisfy the ventilation load in the building. This demand control method reduces energy usage by minimizing the required outdoor air delivered to the building. The demand is controlled via carbon dioxide sensors in each conference room and the return air from each office wing.
OFFICE BUILDING AIR HANDLING UNIT The original air handling unit for the empty courtyard space was not intended for an under floor air distribution type system. However, with a few modifications the unit was properly configured to support the energy efficient under floor distribution system in the new building. A return air bypass was added around the cooling to eliminate the need to operate the reheat system. The air that bypasses the cooling coil is reintroduced after the cooling coil. This allows the system to dehumidify a portion of the return air in the cooling coil and to reintroduce some warm return after the cooling coil to reheat the air to the appropriate air temperature. This further reduces energy usage. Retrofitting the existing air handling unit also saved embodied energy associated with providing a new unit.
CONFERENCE ROOM DIFFUSERS The conference room floor diffusers are controlled by a temperature sensor on the wall. The room temperature deviation from setpoint controls the air flow to the room. The conference room is also fitted with a carbon dioxide sensor for control of the energy recovery ventilation system.
OFFICE DIFFUSERS The office floor diffusers are controlled by the occupant through manual adjustment. This allows each occupant to control the thermal conditions anywhere in the office suite.
MECHANICAL SYSTEM UNDER FLOOR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
COURTYARD AIR HANDLING UNIT
Supply air is delivered through the floor cavity to individual manually and automatically controlled vortex diffusers. The raised floor supply cavity reduces the delivery air friction as compared to a fully ducted supply system. Computer modeling indicates a 4% reduction in energy necessary to operate the supply fan. Utilizing a low supply air location allows the use of a higher supply air temperature compared to standard ceiling supply systems. The typical supply air temperature for a standard HVAC system is between 55 and 60 degrees F. The supply temperature for this under floor air distribution system is between 67 and 69 degrees F. The higher supply temperature increases the number of hours per year the outdoor air can be used for “free” cooling as compared to a standard HVAC system.
The courtyard space around the new building is conditioned by a new dedicated air handling unit. It can provide cooling to the atrium in the summer months and heating in the winter months. The system is equipped with a unique heat recovery system which captures warm return air from the office building return duct and delivers it to the atrium. Thus the heat generated by the office provides “free” heat to the atrium. This yields energy savings by reducing the heat required from the boilers. This new dedicated unit is also fitted with a single coil that provides heating and cooling. This reduces the embodied energy of the unit and reduces air pressure loss through the unit as it has only one coil in lieu of two.
LIGHTING Energy efficient lighting design reduced the building’s lighting power density to 0.4 watts/SF with typical values at 1.0 watts/SF. The lighting design is fitted with occupancy sensors and courtyard daylighting controls to further minimize energy usage.
EXHAUST AIR
RETURN AIR
STEEL COLUMN
CONFERENCE ROOM
DEMOUNTABLE PARTITION
OFFICE
ALUMINUM STOREFRONT RAISED FLOOR SYSTEM RETURN AIR PLENUM
ENERGY USE MODEL COLOR KEY
Weekly�Electricity�Use ELECTRICITY USE
TARGETFINDER: AVERAGE BUILDING OF SIMILAR SIZE
0.20
8000 8000
0.20
7000 7000
0.18
0.18
BASELINE MODEL ENERGY USAGE (FREE STANDING ASHRAE BUILDING)
0.16
0.16 6000 6000
0.14
5000 5000
0.12
4000 4000
0.10
3000 3000
0.08
KWH/WEEK/SF
KWH/WEEK
0.14
0.12 0.10
1.08
PROPOSED MODEL ENERGY USAGE (THE COURTYARD AT GIVEN)
0.06
0.06 2000 2000
0.04
0.04 1000 1000
0
0.02
0.02
0
0
0.00
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
6060
1400
1400
5050
1200
1200 1000
1000
4040
800
800
30
30
600
600
2020
400
400
1010 0
BTU/WEEK/SF
BTU (MILLIONS)/WEEK
Weekly�Steam�Use STEAM USE
200
200
0
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
UTILITY COST
ENERGY USE ELECTRICITY 591,000 KWH 16.85 KWH/SF
219,000 KWH 6.26 KWH/SF 123,000 KWH 3.52 KWH/SF
0
ELECTRICITY
STEAM 2,921 MBTU 0.08 MBTU/SF
863 MBTU/SF 0.02 MBTU/SF 210 MBTU 0.02 MBTU/SF
$ 151,000 $ 4.32/SF
STEAM
TOTAL
$ 44,000 $ 1.25/SF
$ 53,000 $ 1.51/SF
$ 32,000 $ 0.90/SF
$ 195,000 $ 5.57/SF
$ 13,000 $ 0.37/SF $ 9,000 $ 0.26/SF
$ 66,000 $ 1.88/SF $ 41,000 $ 1.16/SF
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM GLASS ENCLOSURE
SEISMIC ISOLATION
The sensitive vaulted glass ceiling and its tied structural arches could not be modified. Slots were designed into the new building to accept the arches and still allow the new building to be free and seismically isolated from the arches.
Custom sliding bearing connections between the two free standing pods and at the bridge ties to the existing building allow for differential movement during a seismic event.
COURTYARD AT GIVEN: SECTION LOOKING NORTH