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This long shot shows how the facility is integrated into the surrounding landscape. Photo courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden
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The Project:
The Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Ill. 37,700 ft2 facility devoted to plant conservation research and education. $20.6 million.
This project was named 2010 Lab of the Year for overall excellence in design.
The Team:
Booth Hansen Ltd., Chicago (architect and lab planner); Grumman/Butkus Engineering Inc., Evanston, Ill. (MP and fire protection engineer, energy modeling); GFGR Architects/Engineers, Chicago (structural engineer); Rocky Mountain Institute, Boulder, Colo. (environmental consultant); Dickerson Engineering Inc., Niles, Ill. (electrical engineer); Gary Wiss Inc., Northbrook, Ill. (civil engineer); E Cube Inc., Chicago (commissioning); Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, Washington, D.C. (landscape architect); Perkins+Will, Chicago (interiors); Brown + Associates Inc., Lincolnwood, Ill. (project manager, cost estimator); Featherstone Inc., Downers Grove, Ill. (construction manager).
The Users:
The 385-acre Chicago Botanic Garden, founded in 1965 on the city’s North Shore, is dedicated to education and research, particularly in the area of plant conservation. The new Plant Conservation Science Center provides labs and teaching facilities for more than 200 people, including 40 principal investigators plus land managers, students and interns who participate in related research. The facility also supports a unique doctoral program in plant biology and conservation with Northwestern University in nearby Evanston.
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The entrance is a gently sloped wooden bridge; the entire building was raised over a wetland. Deep overhangs provide shading. Photo: Michelle Litvin
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Some 800,000 visitors are expected to access the facility each year, including use of a central viewing gallery and a 16,000 ft2 roof garden.
The Schedule:
Construction began with sitework in April 2008, and the building opened in September 2009.
The Goals:
The program for the new building included facilities for seed study; an herbarium focused on rare and endangered specimens; and labs to study a variety of subjects, including plants’ medicinal and industrial uses, and soil and carbon adsorption. The public was to be an integral part of this interactive building, with an emphasis on transparency allowing public views into the science spaces.
The client wanted a green roof to serve sustainability, research and educational functions, and required that the building achieve LEED Gold or higher. In addition, the available site, on a wetland, was to remain as undisturbed as possible, with the surrounding landscape (designed by famed firm Oehme, van Sweden & Associates) viewed as an integral part of the project.
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The plan of the ground floor indicates the building’s functional zones: labs (light blue); specialty equipment/storage (dark blue); offices (yellow); library/seminar (green); service/ mechanical (gray). North is at the left in this diagram. Plan: Booth Hansen
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The Solutions:
The design team created a rectangular, low-slung building, with its flat roofs and deep overhangs reflecting the original buildings at the garden by New York architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. The structure is fundamentally a one-story facility, bisected by a two-story central viewing gallery/atrium that runs west to east. Ten labs are double-loaded along the central gallery, bordered by support zones, open offices and collaboration spaces; private offices are at the building perimeters on the north and south sides. Service and mechanical spaces are at the east end of the building; the library and seminar rooms are at the west, nearest the main public entrance.
The atrium is daylit through high windows, and the labs borrow the available light. A sloped ceiling design and clerestory windows, combined with generous use of interior glazing, also allows occupants of the labs and the central open office zones to benefit from light passing over the private offices at the outside wall.
Labs were planned on a regular 32-ft module with benches 10-ft, 8-in. on center, to enhance reconfigurability and efficiency. Most of the spaces consist of open laboratories; wet labs are grouped on the building’s east side, including hood-intensive biology/chemistry labs. Dry labs with a few fume hoods in support spaces occupy the western lab block. Each block has its own mechanical room, VAV air handling unit and utilities, with minimal crossover of utilities or programs.
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A partial mezzanine overlooks the central atrium/gallery and provides access to the roof gardens. Photo: Michelle Litvin
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Lab benches are generally planned in 4-ftwide sections, organized from low to high hazard. Low-hazard operations were placed nearest the public viewing areas; many of these tasks involve visually interesting equipment. Higherhazard operations are generally deeper in the building, often in alcoves for added control.
Labs include a broad array of functions, from plant systematics to population biology, prairie study and restoration, and economic botany.
Twin roof gardens on the north and south sides of the building, accessible from a partial mezzanine, are supported by the Josephine P. & John J. Louis Foundation and the Ellis Goodman Family Foundation. Each side has a demonstration garden showing the current “best practices” for local rooftop gardening, as well as an evaluation garden for species that might be suitable for rooftop use in the area, including natives.
The Highlights:
The building is notable both for its aesthetic features and its inherent sustainability. Due to the sensitive site, the entire facility was raised above the level of the floodplain, maintaining an undisturbed grade and protecting against flooding. The raised scheme also allowed creation of a rain garden for study and enjoyment. The entrance passes over a 40-ft-long, gently sloping wooden bridge, creating a logical and aesthetically pleasant experience for visitors. The exterior façade combines brick and glass, materials used in other campus buildings. All educational spaces have direct visual connections to nature.
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Transparency between the lab and atrium allows scientific research to be the exhibit. Photo: Michelle Litvin
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The building envelope incorporates thermally broken windows, low-E and high performance glass, continuous insulation and airlock vestibules. High-efficiency lighting and occupancy sensors ensure maximum use of daylighting and reduced energy use for lighting. Twenty-three electrical panels are being metered to allow for future monitoring of power use.
The green design has efficient MEP and HVAC systems as a cornerstone. The air systems include VAV low-velocity air handling units, a heat pipe heat recovery coil and economizer, high-efficiency condensing hot water boilers, and a high-efficiency centrifugal chiller using pond water for condenser water. Lab systems include VAV supply and exhaust. The central atrium/gallery has fan-assisted natural ventilation. A panel under the central open stairwell leading to the mezzanine can be opened as desired to let cooler air flow into the building from the space below it.
An environmental monitoring system by Aircuity samples air from the building rooms, senses its quality, and interfaces with the building management system for demand-controlled ventilation.
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Panels below the stairwell can be removed to allow under-building air to flow into the atrium if desired. Photo: Michelle Litvin
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The building has in-floor radiant heating, designed with a return water temperature varying from 80° to 100°F. Cooling is also through an in-floor radiant tubing system, eliminating the need to cool outside air. Compared with the ASHRAE Standard 90 base case building, the Plant Conservation Science Center is expected to achieve annual energy cost savings of early 40%.
The client also elected to install photovoltaic panels on the roof overhangs, providing a 54.7 kW system to supply more than 6% of the building’s power. The design of the overhangs shades the windows, reducing glare and heat gain.
Other green features include heavy use of recycled and regionally sourced construction materials; diversion of more than 75% of construction waste from disposal; a detailed erosion and sedimentation plan; and a rainwater glen that collects runoff from nearby parking areas for irrigation.
Specialty Labs:
A selection of the individual labs in the Plant Conservation Science Center includes:
- Plant systematics (study and classification in support of the other labs in the building, including prep, mounting and accessioning of herbarium specimens).
- Herbarium (reference collection of preserved materials).
- Microscopy. Funded by the Josephine P. & John J. Louis Foundation, the microscopy lab houses several instruments outfitted with digital image capture and analysis for examining plant anatomy, fossils, fungal specimens and other samples. A fluorescent microscope in a dedicated dark room allows scientists to measure the ability of pollen grains to sire seeds. A geographic information system facilitates spatial study of plant locations, soil conditions and other environmental characteristics.
- Population biology lab. This space is devoted to research on factors leading to plant reproduction and extinction, and includes environmental chambers and a dissecting scope.
- Abbott Ecology Laboratory (enables scientists to study community ecology, water quality and other ecological factors important to environmental management).
- Growth chambers. Two 10- x10-ft chambers offer space for plant-growing in specific experimental conditions.
- Soil lab and soil prep lab (supporting research on the connection between soil, microorganisms and plants, as well as soil processing).
- Dr. Scholl Foundation Seed Quarantine Chamber. This area initiates seed drying and cooling; seeds are separated from fruit and examined to ensure that insects and debris are removed. A cool temperature (about 50°F) and low humidity are required to discourage mold and other fungi, promoting seed longevity and viability.
- Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank Preparation Laboratory and Seed Bank (allows prep and storage of seed materials to be used in prairie restoration).
- Reproductive biology (devoted to study of factors such as seed germination, pollination and the quantity of seeds produced by different species).
- Economic botany (supporting scientists investigating cultural, medical, food and industrial uses of plants). Adjacent to the plant genetics lab, this facility offers initial chemical screening as part of collaborative research with universities or with private or government labs.
- Plant genetics. Funded by the Harris Family Foundation, this lab houses equipment such as a DNA sequencer and centrifuge used in molecular biology work.
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Rooftop gardens allow testing and observation of species that may be suitable for green roofs in the local climate. Photo: Michelle Litvin
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The Results:
Lab of the Year judges complimented the lab’s ability to fit harmoniously into its environment, to accommodate specialized science and many visitors, and to incorporate advanced sustainability features while preserving an air of simplicity.
“This project addressed all aspects of outstanding lab design: beautiful architecture, out standing site integration, functional and flexible labs, sustainability, an extra measure of energy conservation, and integration of public access and science on display,” says judge Erik Mollo-Christensen, AIA, Tsoi/Kobus. “The connection between visitor and scientist is very immediate and tangible, without being intrusive.”
Judge Richard Reitz adds, “Not every great lab building has to be a $100 million biomedical behemoth. A small building dedicated to a niche lab need can also be programmatically perfect and a delight to work in and a destination to lab visitors.”
Judge Andy Vazzano, AIA, SmithGroup, concludes, “This project was an excellent example of organizing a concept around the public’s experiencing science. The solution was simple, and an elegant environment to work in.”
The Contact:
David Mann, Booth Hansen Ltd., 312-869-5000, dmann@boothhansen.com
