Green Science

Technology and conservation go hand in hand in plans for Pomona’s new building for the life sciences.

Technology is often portrayed at odds with environmental conservation, but Pomona's plans for its new life sciences building show them working hand in hand.

"It will be among the 'greenest' laboratory buildings anywhere in the country," says Jay S. Bauer of the Newport Beach firm Bauer and Wiley, the architects.

Peter W. Stanley, Pomona's president, says construction of the new building, along with the renovation of the Seaver Laboratory for Biology and Geology, or Seaver South, presents an opportunity to set an example.

"One of the greatest challenges of our time is to learn how to live responsibly and prudently in a finite world without diminishing the quality of our lives or constraining the scope of our aspirations," says Stanley. "For colleges, science buildings are the ultimate test. Because of their concentration of high-tech equipment, they can be terrible energy hogs. So we set out to make the new life sciences building and the renovated Seaver South examples of how first-rate science could be done in an energy-conscious, environmentally friendly manner."

A variety of conservation features will be deployed from the roof to the ground in the new building, which will replace the Albert Thille Botany Building and will house the Biology Department and Molecular Biology Program. In some ways, the new approach involves the adaptation of ideas that hark back to bygone times.

Plans call for cooling the building with an old standby--ice. As part of a thermal energy storage system, water is to be frozen and stored in a reservoir of small plastic containers at night, when electrical demand is lowest. In the heat of the day, fans blowing air across the stored ice will cool the building.

"The advantage is that the temperature of that cold air is 45 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the 55-degree air that you get out of an air-conditioning chiller plant," says David Becker, the John P. and Magdalena R. Dexter Professor of Botany and associate professor of biology at Pomona. "What that means is that it takes less of it to cool the building, and as a result the ducts are smaller, the fan motors are smaller, and there's a saving in operation. And it's certainly the socially responsible thing to do."

By shifting some of the electrical demand to night, says James Hansen, director of campus planning and facilities, "it takes some of the pressure off the state grid" in the day, when electrical usage is highest. Hansen says the thermal energy storage system and other planned special features should pose no technological problems. "All of the technical things we've been looking at involve proven technology," he says. "We're not expecting any unusual difficulties. I'm confident it's going to be an outstanding building that will work very well."

On the roof of the new building, photovoltaic panels will generate electricity to feed into circuits during the day. The panels may contribute as much as 4 percent to 6 percent of the total power used.

Windows are being designed to permit the capture of as much daylight as possible. The architects say the turn-of-the-century Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles, with an interior awash in filtered sunlight, was an inspiration for the daylighting.

"Lighting requirements for a work space like a laboratory are often higher than for an office or hallway, so to provide a significant portion of that from the free sunlight may make a big difference," says Becker, chair of a committee of faculty and administrators working with the architects.

Water consumption is to be reduced through the use of low-flow, motion-activated faucets and toilets, and outside the building, the parking area will be paved with porous blocks, allowing rain to soak in.

In endorsing a "greener" approach in the design of the new building, says Stanley, the College's trustees felt "this was the way to be responsible citizens and educators, and it was also a way to validate Pomona's claim to be both excellent and distinctive."

It was as much pragmatism as idealism.

"We have been very hard-headed about pursuing this goal," Stanley says. "Everything that has been added to this building to promote sustainability has been proven to work. In many cases, these special features are notably cost-effective over time, even in the narrowest economic terms. The extra up-front costs to create a building that will be friendly to the environment turn out to be a really prudent investment."

Patricia Smiley, associate dean of the college and a member of the committee advising the architects, said the new building, which will be slightly over 46,000 square feet, is expected to cost $21.25 million when completed, according to a preliminary estimate. The College expects to spend another $15.5 million on the renovation of Seaver South, a project not scheduled to begin until the new life sciences building is constructed. Another $1.26 million is budgeted specifically for energy-saving features for both buildings.

The life sciences building has been designed with standards of the U.S. Green Building Council in mind, but the council, a coalition of building industry leaders, does not yet have certification criteria applicable to such structures. "It may become a model" for the council as a rating system for labs is developed, Bauer says.

Outside spaces and landscaping are also important elements of the plan. Landscaping along Sixth Street and Harvard Avenue is to be reconfigured to help improve daylighting and to create outdoor spaces that encourage "chance encounter and contemplation," according to the plans. Second-level walkways are to link the life sciences building with Seaver South and Seaver North, and a new garden plaza space is planned between Seaver South and the new building, in keeping with Pomona's "college in a garden" ambience.

Two concepts that underlie the design, Bauer says, are continuity and change--and he thinks both will be represented. Noting that the legacy of the renowned architect Myron Hunt still looms large over the campus, he describes the College's architecture as "a rich ensemble with different styles, heritages--neighborhoods if you will--and that is reflected in the design. I think we will have a building that fits handsomely into the campus, yet has its own identity, and speaks to the global issues of sustainability and resource preservation. To have a client as important as Pomona step up and make such a commitment to the environment is very important."

Also important is how the new building will function for students, faculty and staff members.

"We are so jazzed," Becker says. "We're so cramped now, with such outdated spaces, and now we're going to have spaces that really match what we do programmatically. The amount of instrumentation in biology just keeps growing, and we'll have space and utilities and the flexibility to support it." The design also is well suited, he says, for the College's curricular approach, which has vastly changed in recent years. "I think its basic structure now is novel in the country," says Becker.

Even relatively recent graduates might be surprised to learn that Pomona no longer offers classes in general biology. "The first course that our biology students take is genetics," Becker says. "Genetics runs through all aspects of biology, so we said, 'Let's start there.' It makes for a clean break from high-school-style biology." As teaching approaches change, he adds, "maintaining flexibility has been one of the guiding principles in the design of the new building and the renovation of Seaver South."

Stanley believes the environmentally friendly design of the life sciences building and grounds makes a statement not only within the Pomona community, but to others as well. "We teach by example as much as by books," he says, "and this is a good lesson for everyone."

To Becker, the lesson involves an impressive unity of form and function, and a happy marriage of high-tech and conservation.

"I think this building is going to be beautiful in every way you can imagine beauty," he says. "Visually it's going to be beautiful, and functionally it's going to be beautiful. We are really excited."

--Michael Balchunas