Photo courtesy of NREL

Research Support Facility II was designed to be one of the most energy-efficient office buildings in the world.

Best Project

Specialty Contracting Category

NREL RSF II
        
Golden, Colo.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's 140,000-sq-ft Research Support Facility II was designed to be one of the most energy-efficient office buildings in the world. The project added an expansive $39-million wing onto the RSF I, a 222,000-sq-ft, $64-million design-build office building completed in June 2010. The expansion began six months after RSF I was completed on time by the same project team in under nine months.

NREL's centers for scientific and technological excellence support the research and development goals of the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The Research Support Facility on the NREL campus is the primary national laboratory for renewable-energy and energy-efficiency research and development. The expansion wing houses 500 NREL employees. Together, the original building and the expansion can hold more than 1,300 employees.

The RSF project achieved all 59 targeted LEED points, including those for site selection, energy, materials and resources and innovation. That is the highest score of the 10 U.S. federal facilities nationwide that have earned the LEED-Platinum rating for new construction. RSF also received a perfect score in the energy category, achieving all 17 points. The expansion project is on target to perform with even higher sustainability marks.

Key Players

Owner: U.S. Dept. of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo.

Architect: RNL, Denver

General Contractor: Haselden Construction, Centennial, Colo.

Electrical Subcontractor: Weifield Group Contracting, Denver

Solar Installation: Douglass Colony Group, Denver

Submitted by Weifield Group Contracting and Douglass Colony Group