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University of North Florida Biological Sciences Building
Project Summary
The University of North Florida Biological Sciences Building is a 116,500-square-foot teaching and research facility that opened in 2012. The project included the university’s coastal biology program and has a mix of teaching and research labs. The labs are equipped with gas, air and vacuum systems; 8-foot fume hoods; sinks; and casework with chemical-resistant epoxy tops. This facility achieved LEED® Gold certification.
The facility features an animal care facility (vivarium) using ventilated cage racks and dedicated clean and dirty wash rooms. In addition, a green house is located on the roof that is primarily used as a conservatory and has polycarbonate panels and automatic temperature-dependent ventilation. The greenhouse also includes shades to control (and zone) the interior environment and offers the ability to harvest rainwater for plant watering.
To support the environmental conditions required for the teaching and research labs, a large quantity of outside air was needed. The air handling unit is equipped with an energy recovery desiccant wheel. The vivarium also required special treatment of the outside air. In these units, heat pipe technology was used to pre-condition the outside air.
Administrative and faculty offices are located throughout the facility, organized between the research and teaching wings, with access to a conference room on each floor.
Hanson’s commissioning services included maintenance of the owner’s project requirements, development of the commissioning plan, construction observation (equipment installation and startup), functional performance testing of HVAC systems, oversight review of operation and maintenance training and documentation, development of a systems manual and a 10-month warranty review.