Science / Medicine : Bateson Building: Engineering a Better Workplace
California appears to have learned an important lesson after problems developed in the Bateson Building, the state’s first official energy-efficient building.
When it opened in Sacramento in 1981, it was hailed as an architectural masterpiece. In addition to its striking design, architects used innovative technology to conserve the energy consumed by lighting, heating, ventilating and air conditioning.
For example, the vast atrium, which rises about 70 feet to a louvered skylight that acts as the roof, was designed as a flexible energy management device that would redistribute heat and provide natural light to work areas. But in the spring of 1982, the people who worked in the building began to report skin rashes, nausea and eyestrain.
Experts who specializes in indoor air quality were brought in. Tests of building performance found many of the problems typical of the “tight building syndrome.” These included the accumulation of gasses and odors emitted from the new furnishings and carpets.
The placement of workers and equipment also did not conform to the original plan, and therefore the heating, cooling and lighting did not work well for them.
The workers in the Bateson Building carried their work from place to place during the workday to escape the stuffy air and uncomfortable lighting. A psychologist estimated that productivity dropped 10% to 15%.
The state responded first by forming a committee made up of the building designers and consultants. The state then set about repairing the air-handling systems and other technical malfunctions, and supplied some workers with desk lamps and others with mechanical shading devices. Mechanical ventilating systems were boosted to full capacity, and meetings were held to answer workers’ questions.
Now that it is working properly, many people consider the Bateson building a very good structure.
More important, the state learned that many of its problems could have been avoided if there had been better coordination among building designers and related disciplines, if the early performance tests had been more sophisticated and if the worker complaints had been heeded.
The state has now instituted a unique “building close-out procedure” under which a building must be heated and “flushed out” twice and tested by state Occupational Health and Safety Administration officials before workers move in.
