Sterling Hall of Medicine C3 Laboratory

LEED CI GOLD rating

Sterling Hall of Medicine (SHM) C3 Laboratory is a 16,300 square foot research space for the Department of Neurobiology. Completed in 2005, the space features four large open-design laboratories to be shared among the six investigators on the floor. New offices and common support facilities were included for department faculty, staff, fellows, students, and associated faculty from other departments. The sustainable design features incorporated during the renovation process earned the new space a LEED Commercial Interior (CI) Gold rating, the first CI Gold rating in the country awarded to a laboratory. Some of these design features are highlighted below.

Site and Transportation

The SHM C3 Lab is located within a building situated in a dense urban area with close proximity to public amenities. The building exists within a half a mile of residential neighborhoods, half a mile of ten basic services, and a quarter of a mile of five bus lines and a rail station. In addition, Yale parking strategies discourage automobile use by providing alternative solutions such as public transportation and car and van pooling.

Water Management

Efficient use of water is an important feature of the lab. Designers incorporated low-flow fixtures to maximize water conservation, resulting in a 24 percent annual reduction in potable water use. Restrooms and break rooms use 34.78 percent less water than base line fixture performance and laboratories use 30 percent less water than baseline fixture performance.

Energy and Atmosphere

In keeping with Yale’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, energy conservation is a main focus of any new project. Daylight responsive controls and occupancy sensors tied to lighting are used to reduce electrical loads. Ninety percent of office equipment and all appliances are “Energy Star” rated. The new space also incorporates new temperature control systems with set points that allow for individual increases and decreases along with central plant monitoring. In addition, no CFC-based refrigerants, which contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer, are used in the lab.

Indoor Environmental Quality

High indoor environmental quality contributes to the well-being and productivity of a building’s occupants. Many design features of the C3 laboratory, ranging from the positioning of the workstations to materials used in construction, make the indoor environment healthy and pleasant. The lab is constructed primarily of materials— including adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets, composite wood, and systems furniture and seating—that emit low levels of volatile organic compounds. Within the lab, 86 percent of all regularly occupied spaces utilize the availability of natural daylight and 85 percent of regularly occupied seated spaces have direct line of sight to the outdoors. In addition, air ventilation rates are 88 percent above the most stringent standards.

Materials and Resources

To minimize the environmental impact of the project, all aspects of the design and construction process are carefully considered, including the full life cycle of all materials used. Here are some statistics about the project’s efficient use of materials:

96 percent of the wood products used in construction are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.
22 percent of the total values of all materials are rapidly renewable, which means that they have a 10 year or shorter harvesting cycle.
21 percent of the building materials were manufactured regionally.
14 percent of the total values of all materials (combined post consumer and half pre-consumer) are recycled.
85 percent of demolition and construction waste was diverted from landfill.

To promote recycling by lab occupants, built-in recycling collection locations are provided.

Click here to view map

Sterling Hall of Medicine C3 Laboratory