High-tech research facility’s metal panel mix produces sustainability and workability
In 2006, the Utah State legislature approved and funded the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR) to strengthen Utah’s “knowledge economy” and generate high-paying jobs. From this, the Logan, Utah-based USTAR Life Science Research facility, on the Utah State University (USU) Innovation Campus, was birthed. It’s a high-tech research facility where initial research groups study advanced nutrition and infectious diseases. In addition to being an outstanding metal building, it also has excellent energy efficiency, a layout that encourages interdisciplinary interaction between research groups and a design that echoes the agrarian characteristics of northern Utah’s Cache Valley. It has already been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
It is 118,000 square feet, three stories high, and houses state-of-the-art open/flexible wet-labs and lab support spaces. Alongside the labs are both private offices and open office areas, with numerous space for formal and casual collaboration (all equipped with multiple modes of presentation technology) woven into the floor pan. Spaces for public interaction are focused on the ground level, providing convenient access to pedestrian pathways and close-by parking lots.
The ground level includes a commercial/research kitchen and dining area, an adjacent outdoor courtyard and a 50-person conference room and fully functional research clinic. The building houses USU’s vivarium function, with both large and small animal holding rooms, an operating suite and a large-scale cage/rack wash operation. 
| Photo courtesy of GILBERTSON Photography |
Link to the landscape
Metal was chosen as a major component in this building for aesthetic and economic reasons. “We were inspired by the simple farm structures on the landscape; beautiful and simple utilitarian structures that used metal in a very economical sense,” says architect Joshua Greene, AIA, associate principal, AJC Architects, Salt Lake City. “[With farms] the roof would be metal, the walls would be metal. They would use one type of metal in a lot of different ways to achieve a very beautiful and minimalist effect, and we drew on that for the early architectural concepts of the building. To echo that agrarian sense, from the economic side, we used an exposed fastener corrugated metal panel. It’s really a raw and simple aesthetic, and all at the same time an affordable installation method.”
| Photo courtesy of Blakely Photography |
Excellent metal exterior
The USTAR building, composed of two major wings-the office wing and the vivarium wing-is clad almost entirely with metal panels. Two types of metal panels are utilized: pre-weathered natural-finish zinc panels from Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C., and factory-finished charcoal grey steel panels from AEP Span, Fontana, Calif. In addition to the metal panels, natural wood patterned phenolic-core panels add visual warmth, balancing the overall material and color palette. Curtainwall framing from EFCO Corp., Monett, Mo., and low-E glazing from Viracon Inc., Owatonna, Minn., make up the balance of the exterior finish materials. Zinc panels clad the majority of the exterior facades. “We chose zinc panels so we wouldn’t have to paint and repaint every 20 years,” says Greene. “It’s kind of a naturally weathering material that didn’t look rusty or old; it will mature nicely over the life of the product.”
The zinc panels are used in two basic configurations: horizontally oriented sinusoidal wave corrugated panels and shiplap seam zinc panels. The upper two levels of the office wing, conceived of as a visually-open box, are clad exclusively with the corrugated zinc panels. The corrugations added strength to the panel, helping to minimize the substructure required.
The perforated panels are also at the enclosure around the evaporative cooling towers at the west end of the building to allow for necessary air flow. Above the main east entrance, and again above the entire roof line, the corrugated panels are 20 percent perforated, providing a slight sense of transparency, and blending with building’s all-steel substructure from Sure Steel Inc., South Weber, Utah, and the sky beyond.
The vivarium wing, conceived of as a visually closed box-in sharp contrast to the office wing-employs both the corrugated zinc panels and the shiplap seam panels. The upper two levels of the east side of the vivarium wing are clad with the corrugated panels, while the south and west side of this wing are clad with the shiplap seam panels. Due to a very limited need for windows into this extremely environmentally sensitive space, there are no perforated panels at this wing.
| Photo courtesy of Blakely Photography |
The power of color
In addition to the zinc panels, the first story of the vivarium wing is clad in factory-finished charcoal gray vertical seam steel panels. This dark color helps the architectural volume above visually “float” on the base, in a fashion similar to the office wing’s upper two stories floating above the glass curtainwall. The same vertical seam panels clad the loading dock on the west side of the building. This panel type allows for an economical, but visually clean panel at the back-of-house functions of the four-sided building.
In contrast, silvery metallic Galvalume vertical seam steel panels clad the mechanical penthouse above the office wing. The design intent employs a relatively high reflective surface to allow the penthouse to blend with the ever-changing sky beyond.
Overcoming obstacles
While the building was completed within budget and ahead of schedule, it was not without its construction challenges. “Zinc is a unique natural metal; it’s softer and more pliable than steel or other metals,” says Greene. “You have to be careful of your attachment, frequency and method. Be as efficient as possible with the attachment and the substructure. The metal panel was a challenge, something we worked with the contractor on to get ‘just right;’ so we weren’t wasting panel where it wasn’t needed.”
Another challenge was the galvanization action between zinc and other materials. “Zinc acts a little differently,” Greene says. “Typically, you would think a stainless steel fastener would be a great way to attach a panel to a building. But zinc and stainless steel have a negative galvanic reaction, one corroding the other. We had to be very careful about how each metal touched the other metal when attaching everything. We had a spacer between the fastener and the metal panel so there wasn’t galvanic action. The two weren’t touching directly.”
| Photo courtesy of GILBERTSON Photography |
Energy efficiency
Lab buildings typically use five times the amount of energy of a typical office building, but that didn’t stop USTAR from attaining LEED certification. “As a LEED Gold certified building, the USTAR Life Science Research facility is among the most sustainable, energy-efficient research centers in the nation,” says Robert T. Behunin, vice president for commercialization and regional development at Utah State University. “The efforts of the entire team helped the project achieve 42 points, comfortably above the 39-point threshold for LEED Gold certification,” says Greene. “The design achieves almost 48 percent energy savings over the baseline, which is fairly significant for a high-tech lab building that requires 100 percent constant fresh outside air.”
A mechanical system blows 100 percent outside air through the facility ensuring clean safe air. The building optimizes energy usage by utilizing different mechanical modes for different seasons by using high-efficiency blowers. “We used a fanwall, instead of a typical fan system on the air handlers,” says Greene. “A fanwall is multiple small fans in the air handling unit, so that if one goes down the whole unit doesn’t go down. It’s a standalone building which helps us control all the aspects of the mechanical system. For repairs, simply repair the one small fan that’s not working. There’s less energy spinning those smaller fans than it would take to spin a large fan.”
The zinc panels are 50 percent perforated with small diameter round holes where they overlap office and conference room windows, and grade-to-parapet glass curtainwall at the featured east stairway. This layer provides sun shading on the south and east sides of the building. Zinc is a highly recycled product and is potentially up to 100 percent recyclable. The panels selected for the USTAR project were manufactured with more than 17 percent of the raw material coming from post-consumer recycled zinc.
Photo courtesy of GILBERTSON Photography
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Utah Science, Technology and Research building at Utah State University, Logan, Utah
Completed: October 2011
Total square feet: 118,000 square feet
Building owner: Utah State University Architect: AJC Architects, Salt Lake City
General contractor: Gramoll Construction, North Salt Lake, Utah
Civil engineer: Stantec, Salt Lake City
Landscape architect: Landmark Design, Salt Lake City
Lab consultant: Payette Associates, Boston
Metal panel fabricator/installer: Southam & Associates, American Fork, Utah
Structural engineer: Reaveley Engineers, Salt Lake City
Curtainwall framing: EFCO Corp., Monett, Mo., www.efcocorp.com
Glazing: Viracon Inc., Owatonna, Minn., www.viracon.com
Metal wall panels: AEP Span, Fontana, Calif., www.aepspan.com, and Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C., www.vmzinc-us.com
Steel substructure: Sure Steel Inc., South Weber, Utah, www.suresteel.com