The Syracuse Center of Excellence (CoE) in Environmental and Energy Systems engages collaborators from over 200 institutions to address worldwide challenges in clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and water resources. CoE members conduct targeted research, exhibit new technologies, commercialize innovations and provide education.

This new research facility and headquarters building achieved LEED Platinum certification and serves to seed a major urban revitalization effort taking place in a severely contaminated brownfield quarter of Syracuse, NY, on a site that was previously uninhabitable, and it showcases new technologies developed by CoE partners. Major research covers such topical issues as promoting bio fuels, assessing long-term urban air quality and air flow in Syracuse via a new 150-foot Urban Ecosystem Observatory tower, and analyzing how outside air conditions affect indoor air quality and human performance.

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The Syracuse CoE was designed to serve as a demonstration of global environmental solutions, and to this end intensive sustainability consulting services were employed. Critical services provided by 7group included serving as the project’s LEED consultant, facilitating LEED and design charrettes, providing critical review of technical analysis reports, and serving as peer reviewer for the technical modelers performing energy, thermal envelope, and daylighting analyses. Sustainable features include extensive vegetated roof areas designed for future installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels, building scale wind turbines, and rooftop HVAC units; a 20 kW PV array; copious daylighting for laboratories and offices; underfloor air distribution; the use of computational fluid dynamics to assist building envelope design; ceiling-mounted radiant panels efficiently heat the building; and other measures reduce annual energy consumption by over 40%.