Blog & News

Autoclave News

Has Your School Built a LEED-Certified Lab Yet?

Wabash Building, Roosevelt University

Many university labs are faced with the debate to build new or renovate. Buildings that predate the 1990s can be an uphill battle for lab renovations, given low ceilings, small rooms, antiquated HVAC, and few ADA accommodations. Luckily structures built since the 1990s, when the US enacted national building codes, are much easier to renovate, even for modern laboratory needs.

But renovating isn’t always in the cards — or the master plan. Old science buildings often become hand-me-downs as universities opt for new construction for their research-oriented departments. LEED-certified buildings are a popular choice, for both the PR and the long-term cost savings inherent in energy efficient design. The modern architecture that often accompanies LEED-certified buildings make for great splash pages on college websites.

Priorclave Customers Go for Gold

The University of Winnipeg opened the gold LEED-certified Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex in 2011. This stunning building in downtown Winnipeg is home to over 30 teaching and research labs that strive to lead the way in educational lab design in North America.

Roosevelt University in Chicago erected the gold LEED-certified 32-story Wabash Building, which opened for business in 2012. In addition to 10 energy efficient science labs, this “vertical campus” also contains student residences, a dining facility, classrooms, a fitness center, and a green roof.

Whether you build new or renovate, water and energy efficiency are becoming standard features in 21st-century educational labs. Don’t be left behind!

[Photo credit: wjcordier, CC BY-ND 2.0]