951f62fb_rolina_Green_Building_Database__Technology
[0] 15 [Description] EPA’s modular office and laboratory layouts are designed to facilitate future changes with minimal impact on the building’s support systems, and with very little waste. Offices are configured in suites comprised of standard-sized rooms and workstations. All office furnishings are modular and common parts and pieces are used in both private offices and open workstations. The standard layout and furnishing plan limits the need for individualized changes when people come and go. When a change is needed, the standard office building blocks can be renovated with little to no impact on suspended lighting, overhead sprinklers, ceiling supply and exhaust diffusers, and acoustical ceiling tiles and grid. Laboratories are designed as interchangeable units. Each lab module is a standard width and has two sections: an inner zone complete with piped services, and an outer zone with only electrical and data services. The outer zones also can be configured as equipment rooms and offices for scientists and technicians. Modules can be combined to meet a wide range of research needs. The inner lab zone is adjacent to a service corridor, which delivers all utilities to the lab, including water, gases, ventilation, electricity and voice/data communications. These services enter the labs at regular intervals at the edges of each modular lab unit, using a service ledge. In some cases, the ledge functions as part of the laboratory casework and counter top, while in other cases it also supports struts for shelves. It also serves as the bottom half of the wall between laboratories, eliminating the need to distribute utilities twice for adjacent labs. At the ceiling, a structural steel channel serves as the top plate for either shelving struts or hard walls. The fixed position of service ledges and ceiling supports allows quick and easy retrofit throughout the life of the building. For more details about this technology/strategy and project, including photos, a video, detailed documents, and specifications, see http://www.epa.gov/rtp/new-bldg/environmental/environmental.htm [Technology] 
Designed for future renovation
North Carolina Green Building Database
Technology