BERKELEY, Calif., March 30, 2017 — Berkeley Lab’s Shyh Wang Hall (Bldg. 59)—home to the Computing Sciences organization—is being commended for its environmental and energy-efficient design after earning a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USBGC).
LEED is a prominent green building certification that rates a building’s sustainability aspects. It was implemented as a way to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and to encourage market transformation toward sustainable design. Points are awarded across a variety of categories, including use of renewable energy, water efficiency, innovation in design and more.
Beyond the basic LEED certification (40-49 points) are the Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79) and Platinum (80 points and above) levels. Wang Hall achieved a total of 69 points, scoring particularly well in Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation in Design.
“With this certification, the USGBC has recognized the unique and sustainable features of this beautiful, high performance computing facility,” said Berkeley Lab’s Sheree Swanson, the Shyh Wang Hall project director. “Energy efficiency and innovation in design were top priorities throughout the design and construction.” Examples of features that contributed to the Gold certification include innovative cooling that eliminated the need for conventional chillers and maximized the use of outside air, large hydro-modification tanks underneath the facility that mitigate storm water runoff impact and a low-emissivity roof to reduce radiant thermal energy, she noted.
Wang Hall, which was officially unveiled in November 2015, is Berkeley Lab’s sixth building to earn LEED certification, including one LEED Platinum and four other LEED Gold certifications.
About Computing Sciences at Berkeley Lab
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) Computing Sciences organization provides the computing and networking resources and expertise critical to advancing the Department of Energy’s research missions: developing new energy sources, improving energy efficiency, developing new materials and increasing our understanding of ourselves, our world and our universe.
ESnet, the Energy Sciences Network, provides the high-bandwidth, reliable connections that link scientists at 40 DOE research sites to each other and to experimental facilities and supercomputing centers around the country. The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) powers the discoveries of 6,000 scientists at national laboratories and universities, including those at Berkeley Lab’s Computational Research Division (CRD). CRD conducts research and development in mathematical modeling and simulation, algorithm design, data storage, management and analysis, computer system architecture and high-performance software implementation. NERSC and ESnet are DOE Office of Science User Facilities.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world’s most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab’s scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the DOE’s Office of Science.
DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.