Summary
Agricultural heritage and scientific inquiry define a new place and new ways of learning for programs in viticulture and food sciences. Inspired by those farm structures where clarity is fundamental to sustainability and informed simplicity can attain the poetic.
The Winery, Brewery and Food Sciences Building WBF is a pilot facility that integrates wine making, brewing, and food processing with discovery and learning programs.
WBF is an extended research and teaching environment, integrating bench-top science with applied process technologies. It is as well an extended learning environment, educating students in sustainable production processes and operating procedures.
It is the first building in the region to meet all domestic and irrigation needs through storm water and the first process science facility to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
Project Goals
Carried forward through a design-build competition, LEED v2.2 Silver-level certification was required, with further instruction to incorporate specific benefits for food and beverage production. On that basis, donors made further contribution in expectation that the project would achieve the highest level of performance.
Design-build delivery was essential to achieve this within a lean construction budget. High net-to-gross efficiency in design about 85 aligned program, quality and budget. Reduced material quantities and operating demands allocated more funds for sustainable features. Builder collaboration validated constructability and ensured that sustainability goals were present in the final result.
The WBF completes a new academic quadrangle. Building organization and architectural character respect campus planning goals and reflect consensus around key issues energy and environment, image and identity, and site relationships.
In character, the university wished to realize a thoughtful expression of utilitarian functions. With a high level of public visitation, process functions are transparent in an open, warm, and humane setting.
In this demanding research setting and foodgrade production environment, researchers were eager to create the most energy and environmentally advanced facility of its type. Critically, all had strong connections to private sector production and worked to enact planning decisions that could be scaled up or transferred to achieve greater efficiency in their parent industries.
Energy Performance Goals
Envelope: Given the poor soil conditions, a geopier foundation system was used to provide a stable foundation. In this system, crushed rock densely compacted into drilled cavities was used as an alternate to concrete. An innovative wall assembly incorporates rigid insulation to prevent thermal bridging and achieve an R-26 value. Plaster, contextually compatible, offered both local manufacture and relatively low embodied energy. Low slope PVC roofing and steep slope metal roofing meet solar reflectance levels that minimize heat island effect.
Daylight and Views: Dual-glazed aluminum storefront and windows accommodate daylight and views at eye-level. Large vision glass areas face north and east, appropriate for this hot, dry climate zone. Above, cellular polycarbonate panels with high thermal value about R-4 are shaded by deep roof overhangs and provide ambient light at clerestories. Concept modeling and IES analysis established compliance with LEED daylight standards 25 foot candles minimum for all occupied areas.
Conditioning Systems: Chilled water and steam is provided by the campus central utility plant. A variable air volume air handling unit with hot water reheat is used to condition occupied spaces. Heat recovery within the air handler uses passive heat pipe technology to condition outside air. A closed loop, water-cooled system is used for process air conditioning equipment, while nighttime ventilation fan systems pre-cool process areas.
Integrated envelope design, separate zoning of laboratories, and acceptance of a higher ambient temperature range for process facilities resulted in a 36.2 improvement over California Title 24 standards for an approximate annual savings of 23,000.
Photovoltaic panels provide 120,000 kWh per year. Obtained by Power Purchase Agreement, the roof-mounted array contributes more than 17.5 of building electrical demands.
Indoor Environmental Quality: The design increases ventilation rates to all occupied spaces by 38 above ASHRAE requirements. Achieving all points in the LEED IEQ category, air quality features include:
All products and finishes have low to no VOC emitting properties.
Monitored flush out and air sampling is conducted before occupancy.
Comprehensive air quality plan includes protection of ductwork during construction.
High air filtration and entry mats minimize airborne pollutants.
Building CO2 levels are monitored. The fermentor capture system and night purge ventilation further assist CO2 evacuation.
Innovation: Science and Sustainability
The WBF is the first LEED Platinum building on this campus and the third in this state educational system. It houses the worlds first LEED Platinum winery, first LEED Platinum brewery and first LEED Platinum food-processing pilot plant. It is one of about a half dozen laboratories and the first process science building to attain this level of performance.
Platinum performance required specific innovations that engaged the vision of industry donors and addressed the demands of an arid climate. These features include:
Capture and storage of 176,000 gallons of rainwater, satisfying annual irrigation requirements and all non-potable demands. This is the first large-scale rainwater harvesting system in the Central Valley to accommodate both uses.
A Clean-in-Place CIP system similar to that used in pharmaceutical manufacture collects, treats and re-uses all cleaning water, reducing demand by about 80.
Research fermentors are piped for CO2 capture, allowing later conversion to solid state.
All-bolted steel connections allow removal and re-assembly if needed. This system reduced field labor, saving an estimated two weeks in construction schedule.
Wall assembly applied a true plaster system over rigid insulation. Remote from the weather resistive barrier, this required significant technical research and collaborative development of custom components.
The building is a total learning environment. Real time data on metering of building systems is displayed. Preparing future leaders for industry, students are directly involved in the operation and monitoring of these systems.
Weve sometimes described the WBF as an intelligent barn. This reflects in part the modesty of the architecture, but also perhaps our distance from agricultural practice. As traditional buildings, all barns possess a native intelligence, supporting an inherent need to reduce, reuse, and replenish. This is a building that remembers.