Continuing their collaboration on laboratory buildings with the Princeton, New Jersey office of HDR, Scott + Partners designed the building envelope housing Vermont’s new 64,000 square foot State Health Laboratory.

Challenges included  breaking down the scale of the facility while accommodating a two story mechanical penthouse and hitting a critical budget mark.  To achieve this, large building components were treated carefully within a limited palate of insulated metal panels and glass.  Open office areas were given maximum daylight behind a two story glass curtainwall while laboratory spaces had fewer openings.  Stair towers were pulled out of the building footprint and expressed. The mechanical penthouse was set back and covered in light colored panels to complete the image.

Extensive use of mock-ups and attention to joint details resulted in outstanding overall facility air sealing.  Blower door testing proved this building is among the top buildings in the state for envelope performance.

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Scott + Partners was retained by HDR, a global architectural firm, to collaborate on the design of a new criminal forensics lab for the State of Vermont. The goal was to create a modern, energy efficient building to complement the adjacent historic masonry office building. The greatest challenge was to design a laboratory facility with an exterior wall cavity without insulation, providing flexibility for future expansion. The solution featured a system of spray foam exterior insulation coupled with industrial grade plastic structural members to both insulate and provide mounting capacity for the exterior wall panels and windows. This building won a “Best of the Best” award from Efficiency Vermont, recognizing innovative and integrated design approaches to energy efficiency.