An innovative LEED Platinum design radiates throughout this research center
The University of Florida Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla., is a research, academic and conferencing facility built to allow interaction between the university and the Lake Nona Medical Center. Designed by St. Louis-based HOK with structural design by Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Novum Structures, the $44 million, 100,000-square-foot facility enables the university to have direct collaboration opportunities with the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona’s top scientists.
 |
“The new center harnesses the resources, expertise and research capabilities of multidisciplinary teams, bringing together renowned researchers, clinicians, teachers and students with the ultimate goal of providing effective therapies and improving health for patients,” says Dr. David S. Guzick, University of Florida senior vice president for health affairs and president of University of Florida Health.
The facility houses the following:
- A clinical research unit from University of Florida’s Institute on Aging
- Expansion of the College of Pharmacy’s Ph.D. program in the emerging field of pharmacometrics, an area of research which seeks to quantify how drugs and diseases interact to aid in efficient and effective drug development and regulatory decisions
- The Orlando campus of the College of Pharmacy’s entry-level professional degree program, which houses 200 students seeking the doctor of pharmacy degree
A dramatic form
The four-story building takes a dramatic form to represent the investigative activities housed inside. Academic programs are separated from research activities by a multi-story atrium entry. While the facility now has the capabilities to make impressive research, its façade has already made an iconic impression due to HOK’s unique design concept realized through Cambridge, Md.-based GKD Metal Fabrics’ technical expertise.
This prominent exterior element is an immense sunshade formed to a circular dome-style structure made of GKD Escale 7 x 1 weave. “To produce the 8,250-square-foot sunshading panels, HOK architects had a very specific set of objectives that GKD had to meet: 10 trapezoidal panels were required to curve from top to bottom, effectively wrapping the exterior and hugging intermediate supports,” says Andy Franks, technical sales director at GKD. “Additionally, a center area cuts away to reveal a glass curtainwall behind.
 |
“The new facility gains numerous benefits from the sunshade, outside of its striking appearance. Sunscreens mitigate heat gain through direct sunlight, a must in hot and sunny Florida. This form of solar management reduces the use of mechanical cooling, making a more energy-efficient building. By covering the large glass curtainwall with a transparent material such as metal mesh, building occupants still have natural lighting and unobstructed views to the outside.”
The panel heights are approximately 68 feet pitched and extend 18 feet from the building. “The façade was to be curved, so GKD developed the planes to jut out in certain angles, resulting in the curved effect,” says Franks. “GKD provided the material, hardware, engineering, drawings and installation, but Novum provided the skeletal steel that supports the metal fabric façade.”
Designers had to take into account the heavy winds in Lake Nona, examining velocity pressure and looking at the wind speeds that would affect the screens and open air criteria. “This is a function of the loads that are exerted back in the building,” says Franks. “Considerations include specific geographic location, weight and open air of the fabric, etc. In the state of Florida, one of the most important critical pieces is the code of requirement. Hurricane winds can be up to 150 mph.”
Innovations
Reflecting the sustainable commitment of the University of Florida, the center’s other energy conservation innovations that aided it in achieving LEED Platinum certification. Its daylight harvesting, sun-shading devices, chilled-beam technology, heat pump recovery for reheat, solar-heated domestic hot water and other strategies have established a new standard for research facilities. A terra cotta rain screen provides an extra layer of outer insulation to improve energy efficiency, while preventing damage from excess moisture.
Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Window Interiors worked with Charlotte, N.C.-based KBR Building Group, the building’s construction manager and general contractor, to furnish the facility with Long Island City, N.Y.-based MechoSystems’ manual and motorized roller shades. The window treatments, installed in classrooms, labs, offices and the main auditorium, block out the sun while still allowing natural light to filter through. This creates a more comfortable and pleasing learning environment for the faculty and students.
 |
According to Kelly Garcia, senior project manager at Window Interiors, the greatest challenge of installing window treatments at the UF Research and Academic Center was furnishing the auditorium with double roller shades. The curved west facing wall of the auditorium required special measures in order to ensure the shades were installed correctly.
“We had to cut the pockets and closure to follow the curve,” she says. “We had the shades made as close to a straight line as possible, and we used angled brackets that could handle the curve while keeping the shades straight.”
LEED Platinum
All of these factors have contributed to the building’s LEED Platinum level certification. “The project was originally designed to achieve LEED Gold, but the project team exceeded expectations and the facility met the criteria for Platinum,” says Ron Whalen, LEED AP, vice president, KBR Building Group. “The Sanford Burnham Institute for Medical Research that we constructed a few years ago was the first building at the Medical City at Lake Nona to achieve LEED Gold. To achieve LEED Platinum at the University of Florida Research and Academic Center right next door is an amazing accomplishment that truly speaks to capabilities of our company and the entire team.”
HOK specified building materials that integrate aesthetic values, quality and sustainability for a high-performance, contemporary architectural design. “All of the HOK team has been extremely responsive to the needs of the faculty and the Lake Nona development,” says Carol Walker, assistant vice president for University of Florida Planning, Design & Construction. “We have been impressed with its BIM capabilities, its team approach with the construction manager and its willingness to meet the goals of the University of Florida.”
The University of Florida Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona, Orlando, Fla.
Completed: March 2011
Owner: The University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Architect: Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum Inc. (HOK), St. Louis
General contractor: Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), Houston
Structural engineer: Walter P. Moore, Orlando
Manual and motorized roller shades: Window Interiors, Charlotte, N.C., www.windowinteriors.com
Metal mesh: GKD Metal Fabrics, Cambridge, Md., www.gkd-usa.com
Structural designer/steel support frame: Novum Structures, Menomonee Falls, Wis., www.novumstructures.com