Lionakis + Lundstrom and Associates is excited to announce that the Rongxiang Xu Bioscience Innovation Center at California State University, Los Angeles has officially achieved LEED Gold v2009 Certified Core and Shell!
The project, completed by the Science & Technology market is a 20,750 square foot, two-story facility designed to house up to eight modules of four to five (wet or dry) laboratories each, as well as a shared autoclave and freezer storage, conference, collaboration and kitchen facilities. Each laboratory provides all basic biomedical research utilities and equipment within an open, flexible and secure space. Spaces will be for lease and will be focused on bioscience innovation, development and ultimately, job creation. In addition, site work included a fully illuminated and landscaped parking lot, loading and break area.
A multitude of sustainable features are incorporated throughout the project, contributing to the unique certification. Site selection and location were an important factor. The project is located on a previously developed site and within a 1/2 mile of a residential neighborhood. The site includes a density of 10 units/acre and is located within a 1/2 mile of 10 basic services. Alternative transportation is located nearby including the rail station which is a 1/2 mile away, and a 1/4 mile of at least two public bus lines, eliminating the need to take personal vehicles to and from classes. The building also promotes alternative transportation by providing bicycle storage and shower/changing rooms which are available to students who decide to use this mode of transportation. Additionally, the site includes a heat island effect on the roof which utilizes roofing materials with high solar reflectance to reduce the cooling load within the building.
Indoor environmental quality is controlled through CO2 sensors and outdoor airflow monitors to signal when fresh air is needed. Smoking is prohibited within the center as well as throughout the University. Materials used throughout the building are comprised of low volatile organic compounds (VOC) including adhesives/sealants, paints and coatings, flooring systems, composite wood and agrifiber, are all low emitting and comply with local and national standards.
Additionally, the building has reduced water usage by 32.04% over the baseline water use. Low flow and flush fixtures are included throughout to reach this reduction in water usage. Water-efficient landscaping is also included which contributes to 82.55% of additional water savings above the baseline. This was established by efficient irrigation fixtures as well as native plantings on site. Energy savings have also been reduced by 38.2% over the baseline energy usage. The components that contributed to the savings are the efficiencies in the HVAC, building envelope, lighting and domestic hot water. These sizeable savings contributed 16 LEED points to the building.
Materials and resources played a role in the certification as well. A storage area for the collection of paper, glass, plastics and metals is located within the building and all items disposed of will be properly recycled by the University. Furthermore, when constructing this project, 84.6% of the construction waste materials were diverted from a landfill and recycled instead. As a final piece of exciting news about this project, it has also recently been designated as a new COVID-19 testing site, to serve the local community and to help stop the spread of the virus. More information, including hours of operation and details is available here.
We are thrilled to add another LEED project to our portfolio that will serve CSU, Los Angeles students, teachers and the community for generations to come!
