Sterling Hall of Medicine C4 Laboratory

Sterling Hall of Medicine C-Wing 4th Floor Renovation

To aid in maximizing the sustainable attributes of the building, Yale School of Medicine designed and built the project in alignment with the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED for Commercial Interiors program at the Gold certification level. All aspects of the building’s design contribute toward its sustainability.

Sterling Hall of Medicine

Site and Transportation

Yale University strives to reduce automobile use by providing alternative solutions such as easy access to public transportation and car/van-pooling throughout the campus. The Sterling Hall of Medicine is regularly serviced by both University and City of New Haven bus lines, which also connect the facility to New Haven’s Union Avenue Train Station. In addition, its central location is within walking distance of many local amenities. Yale’s parking policy incentivizes carpooling with discounted rates for two-person carpools and free parking for carpools of greater than 3 persons. However, no new parking spaces were added for this project to further discourage automobile use.

Water Management

In the United States, it is estimated that over 340 billion gallons of fresh water are withdrawn from rivers, reservoirs and streams daily to support industrial, commercial, residential and agricultural needs. After use, this water is then discharged back into these water bodies. In an effort to conserve water, ultra low-flow lavatories and urinals and dual-flush water closets were provided in the project. With these water saving measures, there is an anticipated 46.4% annual reduction in potable water use.

Energy and Atmosphere

Fossil fuel-based energy generation contributes toward global climate change. According to the Department of Energy, buildings consume about 39% of the energy and 72% of the electricity produced in the United States. The C-Wing 4th Floor Renovation addresses this issue by utilizing energyconserving technologies which also serve to lower the annual operating cost. Occupancy sensors in offices, equipment rooms and lavatories provide automatic switching when these areas are not occupied. During unoccupied hours, temperature setpoints are expanded to reduce energy consumption. A heat recovery system is provided to recover energy from the main exhaust system and use it to pre-heat or pre-cool the outdoor supply air seasonally.Ventilation fans have variable frequency drives that allow fan motors to reduce speed in response to reduced airflow requirements.

Indoor Environmental Quality

On average, Americans spend 90% of their time indoors. It is estimated that indoor pollutant levels can exceed outdoor levels by two to five times. Given the importance of indoor environmental quality, ventilation rates, controllability of temperature, lighting and ample views to the outdoors have been carefully designed to ensure occupant well-being. The building has been designed with carbon dioxide sensors to ensure that fresh air is supplied when the CO2 concentration levels are high. Finishes, such as interior paints, sealants and adhesives, as well as the office systems furniture, have low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content to reduce toxicity and noxious odors. Post construction, new air filters were installed to ensure a dust free environment during occupancy. In addition, the C-Wing 4th Floor Renovation was air-tested to ensure the VOC, particulate and carbon monoxide (CO) levels were well below acceptable thresholds.

Materials and Resources

Waste reduction contributes toward saving natural resources, energy, disposal space and costs, and in reducing pollution risks. This project diverted a large portion of its construction waste from landfills thorough a rigorous recycling program. To reduce the environmental impact created from the processing and distribution of virgin materials, care was taken to specify locally manufactured materials with high recycled content. Such materials include steel, concrete and FSC certified wood used for the lab casework. Rapidly renewable materials, such as bamboo in laboratory casework and millwork, were selected to minimize the use of non-renewable and long-term renewable resources. In addition, the furniture in the offices is Greenguard certified and has met the low-emitting products test requirements. Yale University also promotes recycling of daily waste materials such as plastics, metal, office paper, equipment and corrugated cardboard. The C-Wing 4th Floor Renovation includes a built-in recycling center. Other materials statistics include:

68.5% of the wood used in the project was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
95.2% of construction material was diverted from landfills.
20.4% of materials installed as part of the fitout were manufactured from recycled materials.
28.8% of construction materials were manufactured within a 500-mile radius of the project site, saving cost and pollution from fuel required for delivery.
8.4% of construction materials were manufactured and extracted within 500 miles.
35.6% of the materials installed were manufactured from rapidly renewable sources.

innovation in design

The innovations in design for the C-Wing 4th Floor Renovation include the reduction of laboratory water usage through the use of low-flow laboratory sink faucets and the installation of an educational display showcasing the building’s sustainable features. In addition, the project achieved innovative levels of construction waste reuse and recycling, with over ninety five percent of construction waste diverted from landfills.

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