The University of Colorado Board of Regents has approved plans to construct an academic and research facility on the main campus in Boulder.
Construction of the 79,200-square-foot, $175.43 million chemistry and applied math building is slated to begin in October.
The project will provide shelled space for future specialized quantum research laboratories and offices; a nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic core facility; modern classroom, office, meeting and research lab space; a 200-seat auditorium; study areas; and an upper-level roof terrace.
The building seeks to be one of the most energy-efficient research buildings in the history of CU Boulder by achieving an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of about 100 kilo British thermal units (kBtu) per gross square feet of the building (kBtu/ft2).
Construction will follow Buy Clean Colorado Act guidelines, using eligible materials that do not exceed the maximum allowable global warming potential limit in each construction category.
The building’s mechanical system is being designed to use low-temperature hot water in preparation for the eventual connection to a future district energy loop heated by electricity.
It will be the first building on campus to use cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction. The project will use CLT instead of concrete for the structure in non-research areas of the building.
