Kath Williams (l) presents the LEED gold plaque to Dr. Kathryn Zoon, director of the Division of Intramural Research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Kelly Hudson, site leader for the Office of Research Facilities.

A boiler plant built in 1940 at Rocky Mountain Laboratories and abandoned when a new central facility replaced it in 2001 is the first NIH building to achieve “gold” status by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program following its renovation into a 7,400-square-foot laboratory.

The U.S. Green Building Council on Apr. 18 presented a plaque at RML, an NIH campus located in Hamilton, Mont. The LEED program scores construction projects using a checklist that reflects environmental consciousness. The RML Bldg. 7 project scored 43 points to earn the gold ranking; LEED offers four designations—certified, silver, gold and platinum. The RML project was 9 points short of qualifying for platinum.

Scoring categories include water and energy efficiency; building ventilation and lighting; and material reuse and recycling. In fact, 95 percent of all demolition debris from the project was either recycled or reused.

“This project turned a vacated, defunct building that was a drain on resources into an energy- efficient and valuable laboratory facility,” said Kelly Hudson of NIH’s Office of Research Facilities. “This is a source of pride in our group.”

Two research groups— consisting of about 20 people—now occupy the renovated building.

Before—A new boiler being installed in November 1966 gives an idea of the size of the building.	After—About 20 scientists now work in the renovated, high-efficiency building.

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