THE RESEARCH SUPPORT

FACILITY

Golden, CO, United States

This world class office facility is
occupied by 820 National
Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) and Department of
Energy Golden Field Office
(DOE) staff. In addition to
open office, semi-private and
some private offices, the
facility includes a library,
employee lunch room and
lobby, as well as conference
and support spaces.
 The RSF, which is located on the main campus of the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden,
Colorado, was completed in June 2010. It is a showcase for
sustainable, high-performance design that incorporates the
best in energy efficiency, environmental performance, and
advanced controls using a “whole building” integrated design
process.

The building serves as a model for cost-competitive, high

energy performance commercial buildings for the nation’s
design, construction, operation, and financing communities.
• MATERIALS
Materials used in the RSF contain recycled content,
rapidly renewable products, or were regional, meaning
they were procured within a 500-mile radius of Golden.
Examples include: wood from pine trees killed by beetles
used for the lobby entry; recycled runway materials from
Denver’s closed Stapleton Airport used for aggregate in
foundations and slabs; and reclaimed steel natural gas
piping used as structural columns. About 75% of
construction waste materials have been diverted from
landfills.
• BUILDING FEATURES

Photovoltaic System
The roof has a south-facing 10-
degree slope,
and a standing seam metal roof
that offers an optimal
mounting surface for a rooftop
photovoltaic (PV) system.
Louvered sunshade protects
glazing at the entrance
The wall features beetle-kill
pine, which was milled from
wood killed by the pine
beetle infestation that is
spreading throughout
Colorado
An open office plan allows
proper daylighting and natural
vent
Six inches of concrete on the interior
of the precast exterior/interior
insulated panels provides thermal
mass that helps moderate internal
temperatures year round.
Operable and
automatic window
controls allow natural ventilation
and support nighttime cooling.
OTHER FEATURES:
 Efficient Elevators
It features low-energy elevators rather than the standard hydraulic elevators
commonly seen in low-rise office buildings. The elevators have energy-
efficient fluorescent lighting, and both the light and the fan turn off when the
elevator car is unoccupied.

 Transpired Solar Collector

The transpired solar collector is a metal sheet perforated with small holes.
Fans pull air through the holes on sunny winter days to preheat building
ventilation air and “charge” the labyrinth.

 Water Balance
Water flows off the RSF roof, into the down spout, and then into catch basins
lined with crushed glass. The water running through those troughs waters the
trees and plants as it goes, providing much-needed supplemental water to the
RSF vegetation.
• PROBLEMS
Its surrounding is lack of trees and
greeneries
• RECOMMENDATIONS:

 Maintenance of the building

 Putting more trees and shrubs on
its surrounding.