Williams College Opens Its ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance This Month
Williamstown, MA-based Williams College’s new $50-million performing arts complex, the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, will provide teaching, performance, and technical spaces for the college’s theatre department and dance program. Designed by William Rawn Associates Architects Inc., Boston, the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance will feature three intimate theatres and a dance rehearsal studio, as well as a dramatic and welcoming glass entrance lobby. The building features a prominent lobby on Main Street in Williamstown - a striking glass cube with a strong overhanging roof and dense wood shutters - that greets visitors with warm materials and natural light. The curving walls of the complex are accentuated by a light limestone façade. One of the more contemporary works of architecture at Williams College, the complex is integrated into the campus design with cross-paths through the building, enabling students to be exposed to the performing arts as they walk through campus. The ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance’s three distinct performance venues vary in style and size, designed to meet the college’s unique performance and programming plans.
The facility is organized to break down the traditional separation of front-of-house and back-of-house. A passageway that evolves from warm wood and glass in the front lobby to industrial materials like glass, metal, and steel at the 200-seat CenterStage theatre encourages students and visitors to explore the entire building.
LEED Garners Technology Award for USGBC
The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has been selected as the fourth recipient of the National Building Museum’s Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology.
The museum selected the USGBC for the 2005 Turner Prize for its promotion of sustainable design and building practices and, specifically, the development of the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.
The Henry C. Turner Prize recognizes an invention, an innovative methodology, and/or exceptional leadership by an individual or team of individuals in construction technology. This includes construction techniques, innovations and practices, construction and project management, and engineering design.
The $25,000 cash-award prize is named after the founder of Turner Construction Co. The first recipient was structural engineer Leslie E. Robertson in 2002, followed by architect IM Pei in 2003, and engineer and builder Charles A. DeBenedittis in 2004. The award comes from an endowment established by Turner Construction Co.
The USGBC will receive the honor at a ceremony at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Oct. 24, 2005.
Intl. Firestop Council Website Features Comprehensive Information
Westford, MA-based Intl. Firestop Council (IFC) has unveiled its new website (www.firestop.org), a central resource for firestopping history, as well as information on the association’s education and training opportunities, IFC publications, and videos. The enhanced site features online training modules and comprehensive industry information such as updates on codes, and inspection and installation guidelines.
“Our goal in redesigning [the website] was to create a site that would provide architects, code and building officials, and fire professionals a one-stop location for information on firestopping,” explains Steven M. Tyler, president, IFC. “The enhanced website is part of our larger mission to serve as an educational and authoritative resource on firestopping.”
QS/1 Data Systems’ New Headquarters Offers Much More than Just Design
The new headquarters for QS/1 Data Systems, an organization in Spartanburg, SC, that provides computer software to community pharmacies nationwide and information technology services to local governments in North and South Carolina, incorporates a design that adds up to LEED certification - and much more.
The 110,000-square-foot facility was shaped by seven categories of prerequisite design and construction criteria to achieve energy efficiency, air quality, and environmental compatibility, and has achieved a LEED Silver certification. “The QS/1 building has had - and will have - an enormous impact on the energy and aesthetics of our Central District,” says Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet. “This handsome, functional, and green facility serves as both an anchor for our future growth and a reminder of what a quality project can do for community momentum.”
With a goal of establishing an excellent working environment with an affordable construction budget, QS/1 worked with Spartanburg-based McMillan Smith & Partners to produce a facility with high-efficiency HVAC, lighting, and plumbing systems. The energy-conserving HVAC systems demonstrated a 30-percent annual energy savings when computer-modeled against the customary ASHRAE 90.1 building design standards.
Alter+Care to Build Medical Office Building in Joliet, IL
Cord Construction Co. was recently selected as the general contractor for a 35,000-square-foot multi-tenant medical office building in Joliet, IL, being developed by Alter+Care for Provena Health.
Called Provena Medical Building at Caton Farm, the single-story, state-of-the-art masonry facility will replace a small temporary clinic when it opens in first-quarter 2006. The building is part of Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center’s mission strategy to provide comprehensive healthcare in neighborhoods where patients live. “This facility reflects a vital aspect of our mission because it brings leading-edge physician care and services to a very rapidly growing part of our region,” says Jeffrey L. Brickman, president and CEO of the Mokena, IL-based Catholic healthcare system. Provena Medical Building at Caton Farm will be located immediately east of the Caton Farm and County Line Roads in Joliet, one of the fastest-growing residential communities in the Chicago metropolitan area. According to Provena, the Joliet/Plainfield area grew by more than 19,000 people in the 2000-2003 time period, but there were no physicians in the community.
The building, which has been designed by Libertyville, IL-based Richard Preves & Associates PC, will provide the most advanced medical and technological infrastructure to support advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment, according to John H. Driscoll, president of Alter+Care, the healthcare real estate services affiliate of Skokie, IL-based national developer The Alter Group. Timothy R. Bennett, project manager at Richard Preves & Associates PC, adds, “Because the facility is located within a residential setting, the design integrates the interior-facing and interactive-functioning medical office with the outward appearance of accessibility.”
Study: Painted Cool Metal Roofing Stays ‘Young’
A comprehensive study on the aged reflectance values for painted metal roofing and other roofing materials, completed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Cool Metal Roofing Coalition, conclusively shows that the solar reflectance and thermal emittance values of painted metal roofing degrade minimally over time. This finding is significant since these aged values are often better than those of other roofing materials that degrade more quickly. Now, coupling metal roofing’s superior aged reflectance performance with its recycled content, durability for long service life, and recyclability, this study demonstrates that the energy and sustainable benefits of metal roofing are more compelling than ever. The full study can be viewed at (www.coolmetalroofing.org), the website of the Cool Metal Roofing Coalition.
Several steps were involved in the exposure testing of painted polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) metal roofing. Solar reflectivity measurements were made quarterly at ORNL on steep- and low-slope metal roofs. After 3.5 years of exposure, white- and bronze-colored prepainted PVDF metal roofing retained 95 percent of its original reflectance. Supplementing those data, panels of prepainted metal exposed at commercial weathering farms were tested for aged solar reflectance values. The same 95-percent retention of the initial solar reflectance and thermal emittance was seen again - even after more than 30 years’ exposure in South Florida. The finding also indicates that these types of PVDF painted metals are resistant to dirt collection for at least 30 years. Data from the coalition agrees with ORNL data, showing that emittance of painted metal actually increases slightly with time, but is not affected by differences in climate, whether in Miami (hot, moist) or Nova Scotia (cold, humid).
According to spokespeople at the Cool Metal Roofing Coalition, “We are very pleased with these dramatic, convincing results. While some roofing materials may claim better solar reflectivity properties initially, it is the long-term performance that has the greatest impact on cool roofing.”
More information on metal roofs and an industry-wide program designed to increase the use of metal in the commercial construction market - known as The Metal Initiative - can be found by logging onto (www.themetalinitiative.com).
NAIOP Publishes Rules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse Facilities Design
The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), Herndon, VA, offers Rules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse Facilities Design, a new handbook that will help developers and owners of warehouse and distribution facilities to plan, design, and develop facilities incorporating best-practice methods for achieving peak operational efficiency for their tenants and build-to-suit clients.
“Rules of Thumb provides a road map to assist industrial owners and developers in navigating myriad development options and avoiding the most common pitfalls associated with planning warehouse and distribution facilities,” says Thomas J. Bisacquino, NAIOP’s national president. “The handbook is an extremely useful resource users can rely on to build facilities that meet their customer requirements - now and in the future.”
The publication was written in conjunction with HPA Architects Inc., a Newport Beach, CA-based, multidiscipline design corporation that offers services in both architecture and planning to institutions, corporations, and developers throughout the United States. The handbook includes input from such renowned industrial players as Hillwood Properties, Keystone Property Group, and Trammell Crow Co.
To request a review copy of Rules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse Facilities Design, contact Sandy Hudson at (703) 904-7100. Additional copies may be obtained online by accessing the NAIOP website at (www.naiop.org) and clicking on “Book Store.”
Compact Storage Plays Green Role in Building Design
A new white paper, The Role of Compact Storage in Green Building Design, is available, discussing the benefits of high-density mobile storage and how it may assist with LEED certification. Written for facilities management professionals, the white paper details both the economic and environmental benefits of high-density mobile storage, as well as how it may assist projects in the LEED certification process.
“By allowing a dramatic increase - as much as 50 to 100 percent - in on-site storage over conventional, stationary storage methods, high-density mobile storage systems may help to reduce building size, thus reducing site disturbance and contributing points toward [LEED],” says coauthor Alfred J. Herzog, a LEED-accredited professional in the facilities management division at Emory University in Atlanta.
For a copy of The Role of Compact Storage in Green Building Design, call (800) 492-3434 or visit (www.spacesaver.com).
Carpet and Rug Institute Awards First Seal of Approvals for Extractors
An X-ray analyzer “gun” used on Space Shuttle Discovery is now being aimed at more earthly matters - measuring how much soil is removed from commercial and household carpet. The Dalton, GA-based Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) recently announced the first companies to earn certification for their carpet cleaning extractors under its new Seal of Approval program. The initiative marks the first-ever transfer of NASA-enhanced technology to an entire industry.
Winning the gold Seal of Approval, signifying the highest amount of soil removal, are truck mount extractors from:
- Sears Carpet & Upholstery Care, Lewis Center, OH.
- Mohawk FloorCare Essentials, Fayetteville, GA.
- Prochem, Englewood, CO.
- ZeroRez, Lindon, UT.
- CleanMaster, Mulkilteo, WA.
Nine portable extractors from U.S. Products, Coeur d’Alene, ID, received the bronze Seal of Approval, indicating it meets above-average soil removal standards. Rug Doctor, Plano, TX, was awarded a bronze rating for its self-contained extractor. A CRI technical committee sets the standards and products are tested at an independent laboratory.
Underscoring the value that carpet manufacturers place on the role of quality cleaning products, several carpet manufacturers plan to announce their move toward requiring the use of CRI Seal of Approval products as part of their carpet warranties.
“While proper carpet care requires periodic restorative cleaning to remove built-up residues and trapped soil, professional laboratory testing has shown vast differences in the soil removal capability of extractors,” notes Werner Braun, CRI president. “The Seal of Approval program addresses the issue of carpet cleaning effectiveness by testing and certifying only those products that meet high performance standards.”
For more information, visit the CRI website (www.carpet-rug.org).
