Roger Adams Laboratory and Burrill Hall are undergoing $12 million renovations to improve energy efficiency and upgrade their interiors. Once construction is finished, researchers will benefit from modern laboratory spaces and increased safety.
The third and fourth floors of Roger Adams Laboratory are being completely overhauled to make way for new office space and state-of-the-art labs for professors in the Department of Biochemistry. This $7.6 million, 18,030 square foot renovation project began in May of this year, and is expected to be completed by the end of February 2009.
Roger Adams Laboratory and Burrill Hall are undergoing $12 million renovations to improve energy efficiency and upgrade their interiors. Once construction is finished, researchers will benefit from modern laboratory spaces and increased safety.
The third and fourth floors of Roger Adams Laboratory are being completely overhauled to make way for new office space and state-of-the-art labs for professors in the Department of Biochemistry. This $7.6 million, 18,030 square foot renovation project began in May of this year, and is expected to be completed by the end of February 2009.
The task of remodeling scientific work space is not an easy one. Donald Gerard, Facilities Manager for the Life Sciences, acknowledged that the “project has been in the works for many years.” Gerard said that the changing nature of research helped create this great opportunity for renovation. Ensuring that professors' work could continue as smoothly as possible is a top priority. “It's been a bit of a game of backgammon moving people around,” Gerard said. “There's been a lot of preparation for a project of this magnitude.”
The University and the State of Illinois have committed $4.5 million to support a similar renovation at Burrill Hall, upgrading critical building components and addressing safety and accessibility issues. Phases 2 and 7 of the Burrill Hall Master Plan will soon be completed, opening the way for subsequent renovation of additional laboratory research areas in later phases. Replacing all the windows and doors and making cosmetic and functional improvements to common spaces on the first floor will be tackled next. Project design is set to begin in November of this year, with completion slated for November 2010.
Energy efficiency has been of great interest to the University of Illinois and the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Burrill Hall is currently 17th in energy usage among campus buildings. By modifying the condenser water and heating water steam systems, Burrill Hall can save electricity and lower costs.
Another source of energy savings is centered on fume hoods used to remove airborne chemicals in almost every lab. Operated for 365 days a year, a single conventional hood uses more energy than the average American household. An energy recovery system planned for Roger Adams Lab will feature special coils designed to extract wasted heat from the laboratory exhaust, for use in place of other power sources in the building. This will offset each fume hood's energy consumption.