Computer, Data & Information Sciences Building

Designed for Equitable Communities

• Located near downtown and campus, CDIS has great access to transportation, such that no new parking is being built.
• CDIS will include 274 exterior, short-term bike racks, 52 indoor stalls and eight showers for human-powered commuters. Charging stations are being incorporated to support the use of e-bikes.
• Project includes amenities such as Lactation rooms and Wellness rooms, two roof terraces with spaces specifically designed to support both contemplation and interaction. Both the introvert and extrovert will find the opportunity to breath fresh air and connect to greenery and territorial views beyond. The terraces are deliberately open to all occupants of the building, with highly visible entries accessed from public spaces.

Designed for Ecology

• Dark Sky Compliance
  Light pollution and trespass will be minimized, and will be consistent with the guidance of the International Dark Sky Association.

• Tree Survey Data
  Trees within the project boundary are to be removed to allow construction of the building.   The Aspen, Spruce, and Hemlock trees along Orchard St. were intended to be temporary when planted because of the anticipated demolition of the Service Building and construction of a new facility.  Two street trees on University Avenue will be removed so that the building may be constructed.

• Bird Collisions Deterrence
  CDIS will provide bird-friendly glass in select areas. Bird glass areas were placed in accordance with DFD sustainability guidelines and the City of Madison.

• Reduced Heat Island Effect
  No parking is provided on site.  Trees, solar panels, and pavement of SRI 29 or above will be provided.

• Native Vegetation
  • 29 of 37 (82%) the plant species provided are native.
  • The third, seventh, and penthouse floors all have green roofs that use native vegetation, supporting insects and bird habitat and connecting building occupants with a natural experience.  The third floor roof terrace references a savanna vegetation type while the seventh floor roof terrace references the prairie vegetation type.  Shallow, six inch depth, soil profiles exist on all levels.  For these areas to support native vegetation, irrigation is needed to offset the lack of soil depth.  All floors have both flowers and grasses to support pollinating insects.
  • The landscape design uses plant species typical of the state of Wisconsin’s various vegetation types, specifically referencing the Northern Mesic Forest, Savanna, and Prairie.  By using these plant species, the site provides habitat for insects and birds and allows its human occupants to experience landscapes similar to those prior to the site’s development. 

Designed for Water

• This project will utilize low flow plumbing fixtures and clearwater capture and reuse to achieve indoor water use reductions that exceed 50% from LEED baselines. Storm water from non-green roof areas, condensate waste, and drain tile discharge will be captured for reuse for toilet and urinal flushing. Storm water from green roof areas and the building site will be captured for reuse for irrigation. 
• This design achieves three LEED points for Rainwater. LEED Rainwater Point requires that all the water from the 90th percentile storm events remain on site. Storms in the 90th percentile are frequently occurring events as opposed to the lower frequency, higher intensity events that DFD uses for its storm water standards. The CDIS site is not suitable for infiltration due to soil type and contamination so water re-use is volume reduction method applied to the site.

Designed for Economy

• At the start of the project, an extensive programming exercise was developed over the course of phase 1. The goal has been to right size this building both for future growth and budget. The resulting program and design allow for adequate growth, flexibility, and resilience. Similar buildings and programs were evaluated to measure the direction of CDIS. 
• The design team is also selecting materials and systems which are highly durable, have long lifespan, and with lower maintenance requirements. Products such as Terrazzo flooring, ultra high performance concrete for exterior cladding, and solid stone in multiple applications, are extremely durable. Their longer lifespan and minimal maintenance will pay back the higher first cost. The team focused on implementing these materials in the most impactful areas. The design team is paying close attention to how the building is being detailed and built. Preventing water and air infiltration in the detailing of the building is important to prevent maintenance concerns and achieve the goal of a building that is here for decades.

Designed for Energy

The proposed design model is estimated to achieve the following when compared with an ASHRAE 90.1-2013 Appendix G. baseline building:

• Estimated energy savings: 49%
• Estimated energy cost savings: 38%
• The building is projected to have an energy use intensity (EUI) of 57 kBtu/sf/year, below both the Office (65 kBtu/sf/year) and Classroom (60 kBtu/sf/year) DFD benchmarks.
• The building roof top is being maximized for photovoltaic potential to deliver onsite renewable energy.
• The building will utilize the campus chilled water system for cooling and there will be no refrigerant onsite. 
• Lighting has been designed to provide comfortable light levels and flexible controls while meeting sustainability goals. All lighting is LED and dimmable with vacancy sensing and daylight response dimming as appropriate. Light pollution and trespass has been minimized. The design delivers a lighting power density of 0.46 W/sf which is estimated at a 61% reduction in consumption over the 90.1-2016 baseline.
• The rooftop will house a 129 kW photovoltaic array, which is projected to produce 162,441 kWh/year, offsetting a total of 3% of the total building energy and 7% of the total building energy cost. 

Designing for Wellness

• Biophilia
  The design team and user group representatives participated in a charrette on October 12, 2021 dedicated to biophilia. The design team facilitated the wide-ranging discussion by outlining concepts such as Kellert’s biophilic design elements, citing precedents illustrating these ideas in built form, and prompting users for their own experiences and recollections of moments that capture the same essence. Inspirations specific to the project were captured (drumlins, the weaving of natural systems, seasonal color) and potential resources and vital contacts were identified. Consistent with this, the project will provide two amenity terraces with abundant planting and opportunity for outdoor reflection. Interior gardens on the ground and basement levels also provide a connection with greenery.
• Daylighting
  Access to daylight: The regularly occupied spaces have an sDA200/40 of around 45%.  This is well above the DFD requirement of 30% and has been verified by a daylight model.The majority of workspaces occur on Levels 3-7, with the perimeter predominantly private offices and research labs. Given the full height skylit atrium and the internally-located building cores, well beyond the minimum of 30% of workspaces are within 20 feet of transparent envelope glazing.
• Acoustic Comfort
  All of the finished ceiling products are specified to provide a minimum of NRC .95
• Additional Measures
  The seven-story, skylight-topped atrium, threaded with an irresistible set of winding, wood-enclosed stairs – the heart of the conceptual “bread crumb trail” – will provide a continual connection to the diurnal transformations beyond the building and the ongoing activities within it.