Oregon Establishes New Labs For Green Building Research

$1.6 Million to Study Green Materials and Building Performance

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST), a research center, has announced a public/private partnership that will invest $1.6 million in green-building research conducted at Oregon State University and Portland State University.

New laboratories at the two universities will investigate green building materials and study the performance of building assemblies and completed green buildings. “Nobody else is pursuing green-building research and development in the multi-institutional way that Oregon is,” said Oregon BEST president David Kenney. “This initial investment is the beginning of what will become a center positioned to influence the green-building agenda at the national level.”

Oregon State University will receive $920,000 to establish a new laboratory, the Green Building Materials Lab. The laboratory expects to study a variety of new green building materials, including hybrid poplar lumber engineered to be three times stronger than old-growth Douglas fir, new types of environmentally friendly concrete, and building insulation made from recycled plastic.

Portland State University (PSU) will receive $651,000 to establish the Green Building Research Laboratory. The lab will specialize in building- performance monitoring and the use of infrared cameras for evaluating wall assemblies, ceiling assemblies, and windows. Researchers at PSU also plan to study how occupant behavior affects building energy use.