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"We really wanted science on display...The integrated design process allowed us to work with university stakeholders to make sure that priority was maintained and achieved."
For decades, Indiana University of Pennsylvania's science programs were scattered across aging buildings from the 1950s and 60s, each with its own culture, its own routines, and its own mounting energy costs. Faculty had settled into siloed spaces, and students rarely crossed paths with peers in neighboring disciplines.
When the opportunity arose to consolidate, IUP and the Pennsylvania Department of General Services envisioned something radically different: a single, purpose-built science facility that would bring disciplines together under one roof while dramatically reducing the high energy burden that lab buildings notoriously carry.
The result is Kopchick Hall, a roughly $90 million, seven-year undertaking that proves even the most complex building types can be designed for efficiency, flexibility, and connection.
Kopchick Hall was conceived as IUP's primary science building, replacing several outdated structures that were ultimately demolished after the new facility opened. The building houses classrooms, research labs, and specialized spaces including a planetarium, a vivarium, a laser lab, and a high-resolution imaging lab for electron microscopes. The main goal was designing the flex-space layout for hands-on scientific work, placing the informal "third spaces" throughout the center for collaborative study space.
"We really wanted science on display," said Lisa Carver, Principal and Project Manager at PWWG Architects, who guided the project from award in 2017 through substantial completion in 2023. "The integrated design process allowed us to work with university stakeholders to make sure that priority was maintained and achieved."
That vision extended to the building's physical layout. Department offices, once "sprinkled all over" the old facilities, were consolidated in a single row on the first floor, an intentional design choice to foster the kind of spontaneous interactions that siloed buildings had suppressed for decades.
Lab buildings are among the most energy-intensive structures in any portfolio, driven by stringent ventilation requirements. PWWG and their engineering partners tackled this challenge head-on, targeting a 25 to 35 percent improvement in HVAC energy performance over a conventional baseline.
The strategies were methodical and layered. Working with Stantec, who served as both lab planner and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer, the team specified larger duct sizes to reduce pressure drop and fan energy. They integrated heat recovery from exhaust air and implemented innovative control sequences, including thermostat setbacks and air-handling adjustments for unoccupied spaces.
The intent was “making sure we don't have fume hoods running all day long, or the HVAC system operating in rooms that aren't in use," Carver explained. "Those sequences add up to real savings."
PWWG Architects Fast Facts:
Project: John J. and Char Kopchick Hall at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Team:
- Tax incentive participants: PWWG Architects, Stantec, & Moshier Studio
- Additional Firms: Hope Furrer Associates, NV5, Colliers Engineering, Moore Design Associates, Tower Engineering, GeoMechanics, Inc.
Federal Funding Incentive: 179D tax deduction applied to 146,720 sq. ft.
Deduction Amount: $5.10/sq. ft. (total deduction amount of $748,272 divided proportionally to participating team members)
Key Feature: Flexible, Non-Fixed Lab Casework Design with perimeter mechanical connections
Beyond the mechanical systems, the building incorporates passive features through a tight, well-insulated envelope, higher-performance walls and roof systems that reduce heating and cooling loads without relying on any mechanical operation. Low-flow plumbing fixtures and efficient electrical systems round out the package. While the project is still pursuing final metered data, the cumulative effect of these strategies positions Kopchick Hall to deliver meaningful energy reductions for a building type that typically consumes far more than its share.
"All building services, such as water, vacuum, fume hoods, are on the perimeter, allowing for that flexibility in the center."
One of the project's most distinctive features is its commitment to adaptable space, a growing trend in higher education architecture. Research labs were built on a modular system, allowing them to flex in size depending on the grants and needs of principal investigators. Fixed casework (cabinetry and counters) lines the perimeter, but everything inside the labs is movable, enabling easy reconfiguration as research priorities shift.
"We worked with Stantec, and they really emphasized the need for non-fixed laboratory casework," Carver said. "All building services, such as water, vacuum, fume hoods, are on the perimeter, allowing for that flexibility in the center."
The result is a building where a lab might host biology in the morning and astronomy in the afternoon, requiring coordination across disciplines but unlocking a far more efficient use of space and resources.
Kopchick Hall's sustainability story extends beyond energy metrics. A tenured ornithology professor championed the inclusion of bird-safe glass, and PWWG worked with him to identify optimal placement.
The front of the building highlights a custom skeletal leaf pattern in the glazing, a design that echoes the adjacent Oak Grove, IUP's signature green space, allowing occupants to look through stylized leaves toward the living canopy outside.
"From a sustainability standpoint, it's not an energy savings, but it is environmentally friendly for our bird friends," Carver noted.
Perhaps the most widely applicable lesson from Kopchick Hall is one that emerged after construction: the building was qualified for a federal 179D tax deduction, a provision that rewards energy-efficient design in commercial buildings and buildings owned by specific tax-exempt organizations .
Because government-owned buildings are exempt from claiming the credits themselves, the benefit flows to the design professionals and contractors who made the efficiency possible. PWWG worked with the Alliant Group, whose engineers conducted a technical assessment called an energy audit of the building's envelope, mechanical systems, lighting, and water usage against performance criteria to validate eligibility.
"We didn't start the project with a goal of getting the 179D tax deduction," said Tony Pitassi, Managing Principal at PWWG, who facilitated the process. "But the project was already on track because of its LEED® goals. It was just a natural fit."
The deduction represents a tangible financial return that reduces the taxable income for design teams that prioritize efficiency, a powerful incentive that extends beyond the satisfaction of doing the right thing. "It opens everybody's eyes up." Pitassi said. "When you get tax deductions, there's a real dollar advantage even to us as the design professionals."
Carver added an important caveat: "We can't seek this deduction with every project — just our publicly funded projects, because the building owner can't claim them. It's only in these defined opportunities where we're able to do that." PWWG received a $5.10/sf deduction, that was then allocated to interested design team members based on their general proportion of the effort.
With the cancellation of this longstanding tax deduction program in 2026, the IUP project was lucky to capitalize on this federal incentive to drive higher performance before it was eliminated.
"It opens everybody's eyes up... When you get tax deductions, there's a real dollar advantage even to us as the design professionals."
The seven-year timeline, which included the disruption of COVID-19, was remarkably smooth for a project of this scale, though not without lessons. A prefabricated mechanical penthouse, intended to compress lead times, ended up being one of the longest-delivery components on the job. And the demolition of the older buildings after occupancy revealed unforeseen conditions that extended the overall process.
Despite these and other hurdles, the new building's construction was, in Carver's words, "smoother than many of our other projects."
Kopchick Hall demonstrates that even the most energy-demanding building types can achieve significant gains through integrated design, smart HVAC strategies, and a tight building envelope. Its modular lab approach offers a model for institutions seeking to maximize space utilization while reducing long-term energy costs. And the 179D tax deduction pathway reveals a financial incentive that many design firms and contractors may not yet be leveraging.
For other institutions considering similar projects, this exemplifies how energy efficiency in lab buildings is achievable, and the returns, in utility savings, tax deductions, and occupant satisfaction, compound over time.
