Sciences Building Features Sound Environmental Choices by Judy
Long The design of Baylor University's 500,000 square-foot
Sciences Building, slated to open in fall 2004, will exceed by
more than a third the energy-saving requirements of the 2000
International Energy Conservation Code. The building's
architects, Harley Ellis of Southfield, Mich., used a variety of
approaches for an environmentally responsible design to house
21st century science at Baylor. Biology Professor Ben Pierce,
who oversaw academic planning for the facility, said science
buildings present special challenges since their safety
requirements make them the most energy-intensive buildings on a
campus. "You cannot re-circulate air in the lab areas. You don't
want people breathing air laden with chemicals, so all air has
to be fresh. The labs also require lots of air changes per hour
because when the fume hoods are running (exhausting air with
chemicals) you have to supply air to the rooms to make up for
the air removed by fume hoods," Pierce