Payette's green design at Columbia University wins three design awards

The Gary C. Comer Geochemistry Building at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory - Palisades, NY

Palisades, NY Payette, a leading architectural design firm specializing in complex buildings for medical and scientific research, academic teaching, and healthcare, received three design awards for its design of the Gary C. Comer Geochemistry Building at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

The Comer Geochemistry Building garnered an award for design in the 2009 Sustainable Design Awards sponsored by the Boston Society of Architects committee on the environment and the American Institute of Architects. The biennial award is co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the committee on the environment of the AIA New York chapter. Its purpose is to recognize projects that systematically integrate several aspects of sustainability and, as a result, make a substantial impact on the environment.

Jurors reviewed more than 50 portfolios of projects from around the world. They cited the Comer Building's success in meeting the technical challenges of a complex research program, and also how "the solution settles into the landscape beautifully."

The project was also named the 2009 Lab of the Year in the competitive awards program co-sponsored by R&D Magazine and the Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (SEFA). Now in its 43rd year, the annual Lab of the Year competition brings together judges from the fields of R&D programming, planning, design, construction, and engineering, as well as laboratory scientists and equipment manufacturers. According to the demanding judging criteria, there are more than 30 different characteristics that jurors evaluate, including siting, planning, flow of materials and people, plant operation, aesthetics, working conditions, energy efficiency, and cost to build/operate.

The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) and the American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education (AIA-CAE) also cited the project in the 2009 Excellence in Planning and Excellence in Architecture Awards program.

"Honoring the challenge posed directly by the late Gary Comer, founder of the Lands' End Company and a committed supporter of Lamont's climate change research, the building's architects set out to make this a truly sustainable laboratory in spite of its demanding environmental requirements," said Joe Ienuso, executive vice president of Columbia University Facilities. "Payette sought to achieve this in a holistic way, recognizing that sustainability is more than using green materials or green power. Starting with its placement on the campus, sustainability was at the root of the design concept."