January 2015
| Business World
159
“From the very first meeting, the client said
they weren’t going to build this facility un-
less it was the first net-zero laboratory build-
ing in the world,” Ted says. “That was very
exciting to us.”
Traditionally, laboratories – particularly ge-
nomic-focused ones – consume large quan-
tities of energy for heating and cooling, and
also for running energy intensive scientific
equipment. The new JCVI building was de-
signed to defy that tradition, and features
“all of the latest design and construction
elements to ensure that it will exceed the
requirements for LEED Platinum certifica-
tion.”
“The building is designed to have a ‘net-
zero’ energy footprint, which means that it
will produce as much electricity on-site as it
consumes annually,” Ted explains.“This was
possible by integrating numerous energy effi-
cient measures throughout the building sys-
tems, incorporating operable windows, effi-
cient lighting, and by reducing internal plug
loads wherever possible. On-site electricity is
generated through the sizeable photovoltaic
(PV) arrays on the roof.”
