Innovation is brewing in the Bay Area, and it’s not coming from another app development. FLEXLAB, a laboratory dedicated to studying energy efficiency, just opened up at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the hills above UC Berkeley.
The lab is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, and as of now, it is the only one of it’s kind in the world.
“It’s the first that tests system level technologies,” says Cynthia Regnier, FLEXLAB’s executive manager. “[FLEXLAB] provides a platform upon which we could test these systems and revalidate performance and improve it before it gets committed and built in the order of hundreds of thousands of square footage and millions of dollars of investment.”
According to local newspaper Contra Costa Times, startups, architects, designers, utilities and manufacturers in the Silicon Valley are invited to use FLEXLAB for fees adjusted to specific needs.
There are four separate labs to test-drive different technologies: Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, lighting, windows and the building envelope.
Find out more at FLEXLAB’s official website.
Related Stories
| Aug 10, 2016
Top 30 Data Center Architecture Firms
Gensler, Corgan, and HDR top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest data center sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 10, 2016
UNIVERSITY GIANTS: Facing money woes, the nation's colleges double down on innovative ideas
Budget constraints are compelling some public institutions to pursue alternative methods of financing their major building projects.
| Aug 9, 2016
Top 100 University Architecture Firms
Gensler, Perkins+Will, and CannonDesign top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest university sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Aug 9, 2016
Renascent architecture: Demolished Frank Lloyd Wright structures get new life
The Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative is set to begin its reconstruction efforts with the Banff Pavilion, which was demolished in 1939.
Building Team | Aug 4, 2016
Thought leaders from architecture, engineering and construction to meet at 2016 Bluebeam eXtreme Conference
Bluebeam users inspire technological change through shared insights and training at three-day event.
| Aug 4, 2016
MULTIFAMILY BUILDING GIANTS: Rental complexes focus on affordability, accessibility, and specialty amenities
To address the affordability problem and attract tenants, owners and developers are experimenting with smaller and smaller units, amenity-rich environments, and “co-living” concepts.
| Aug 4, 2016
Top 110 Multifamily Architecture Firms
Perkins Eastman, CallisonRTKL, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest multifamily building sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 3, 2016
GREEN BUILDING GIANTS: Sustainability leaders turn to wellness and technology to get an edge
AEC leaders in green building are stepping up to a higher level of innovation and to be a green leader today, you have to dig deeper into data.
| Aug 2, 2016
Top 130 Green Building Architecture Firms
Gensler, Stantec, and HOK top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest green building sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Architects | Aug 2, 2016
Bradley Lukanic named CannonDesign's CEO
In his new role, Lukanic takes helm of an experienced leadership team crafting and achieving optimal short- and long-term strategies and business outcomes