PHYSICAL SCIENCES BUILDING

CONTENTS

    BUILDING OVERVIEW
    SUSTAINABLE FEATURES
    RESOURCES

BUILDING OVERVIEW

LEED Certified Gold

Northwest Aerial Perspective - Courtesy of Wilson Architects

The Physical Sciences Building (PSB) provides a mix of flex laboratories and office space to accommodate a wide variety of physics, computational, and synthetic chemistry research. At 82,500 square feet spread across three flexible levels, the building is designed to be reconfigured many times over its life to serve evolving research needs.

As part of the project, the existing West Experiment Station (WES) was disassembled, relocated, and rebuilt on a brand new foundation. Interior renovations to the WES increased its usable space by 50%. The rehabilitated structure now houses 20 faculty and graduate student offices from the departments of Physics and Chemistry. Interior bridges connect the Physical Sciences Building to the WES and neighboring Goessmann Laboratory.

Completed in April 2018, the project received LEED Gold Certification.

^ Back to Contents

SUSTAINABLE FEATURES

Sustainable Sites

• Brownfield redevelopment
• Walkable to a library, hotel, restaurants, and other community services. Easy access to seven PVTA campus bus routes
• Campus wide parking policy with discounts for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles
• Compact building footprint maximizes 60% vegetated, open green space on site in addition to pedestrian accessible walkways
• Strategic hardscaping and light colored roofing mitigates heat island effect
• Walkable Relocation and remediation of the West Experiment Station (WES) introduces 50% usable space

Water Efficiency

• Water efficient landscaping improves site ecology without permanent irrigation methods
• 30% reduction in potable water use via low-flow plumbing fixtures

Energy & Atmosphere

• Overall energy performance optimized by 30%
• Select refrigerants used to minimize contributions to global warming and ozone depletion
• Shut the Sash initiative encourages users to manually close the vent hood when not in use to promote safety and energy savings
• Implemented enhanced commissioning to ensure that the building’s systems perform as intended post-occupancy

Materials & Resources

• Diverted 84% of construction wastes from landfill
• 24% of building materials extracted, processed, and manufactured regionally
• 17% of building materials contain recycled content
• 88% of wood products are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified 

Indoor Environmental Air Quality

• Developed and implemented an Indoor Air Quality Plan during construction and before occupancy
• Low-VOC flooring, paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, and composite wood
• Pollutant-collecting floor mats, HVAC filters, and isolated chemical storage ensure personal health and safety
• Individual lighting and temperature controls allow occupants to make adjustments for maximum comfort
• Thermal comfort survey administered to building occupants following project completion
• CO2 sensors ensure adequate fresh air is provided to densely occupied spaces
• Negative air pressure and self-closing doors present in rooms with hazardous gases or chemicals to help keep occupants safe
• Both return and outside air filtered before delivered as supply air

Innovation In Design

• Low-mercury lighting
• Active green building public education programs
• Green Housekeeping Program

^ Back to Contents

RESOURCES

GREEN BUILDING BROCHURE

LEED PROJECT SCORECARD

LEED PROJECT DASHBOARD

GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Tour the Physical Sciences Building construction site! Click and drag to look around. Use the middle mouse button to zoom in and out, and click the directional markers to navigate between spaces. The interface is compatible with Google Cardboard and other mobile virtual reality headsets using the Google Street View app.

Photo Gallery

Click each photo below for an enlarged view. Construction and northwest aerial perspectives courtesy of DCAMM. All other images courtesy of Wilson Architects.

Videos