Northboro, MA – The expanded Saint-Gobain research Development Center at 9 Goddard Rd. in Northboro recently obtained a Gold Rating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® program , placing it among the very few buildings in North America to qualify for this prestigious energy efficiency and sustainability rating.
The building was designed to adhere not only to LEED standards but to Saint-Gobain’s rigorous worldwide energy efficiency standards for new company buildings through the “Care:4” program to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions of company-owned buildings by a factor of four by 2040.
Care:4 covers new office buildings, training centers, showrooms, as well as existing Saint-Gobain buildings that undergo major renovations.
The new Northboro building attained the Care:4 rating based on its state-of-the-art design, as well as its use of Saint-Gobain energy-saving products.
The Northboro operation has been a major center for materials research since 1985. It joined Saint-Gobain in 1990 as part of the acquisition of Worcester-based Norton Company.
In 2003, the site became Saint-Gobain’s main research location for high-performance plastics and coated abrasives, and since then has grown and expanded its activities. The 186,000sf R&D Center is based in three buildings on a 26-acre site near I-290 in Northboro.
Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Saint-Gobain earned the 2011 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency.
The reason for the $15 million expansion project was to provide permanent space for 160 employees that were based in temporary trailers, as well as space for up to 40 new employees. The expansion was prompted in part by Saint-Gobain’s emphasis on its global mission: to attain worldwide leadership in construction markets offering innovative solutions to meet the fundamental global challenges of growth, energy and the environment.
Special features of the construction project include unprecedented use of Saint-Gobain’s own building products, particularly those of its subsidiary CertainTeed, which provided acoustical ceilings, gypsum wallboard, insulation, solar reflective CoolStar roofing , foundation products, ceiling grids and tiles. Window glass for the buildings was manufactured by Saint-Gobain. Adhesives were used from Saint-Gobain’s performance plastics business. A mesh product from Saint-Gobain subsidiary ADFORS was used as reinforcement and embedded in the exterior building wall panels, concrete walkways and asphalt in the parking lot to reduce cracking.
A mechanical system supports the laboratory space utilizing a heat recovery wheel installed in a roof top HVAC unit manufactured by Cambridge Engineering. The mechanical systems that were installed utilize the air displacement system for distribution of the air.
The mechanical system on the second and third floor uses a pressurized raised floor system that promotes an equal distribution of the temperature climate in the building.
The design and construction team includes architect Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott;
construction manager A.J. Martini; mechanical, electrical & plumbing engineers AKF Engineers; HVAC & process piping subcontractor J. J. Bafaro, Inc.; electrical subcontractor W. J. Griffin Electric; and controls subcontractor American Energy Management.