SNC world class research facility opens tomorrow

Tomorrow, Sierra Nevada College students will have the opportunity of a lifetime as the doors of the new Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences open for the first time, ushering in a new age in research in the Tahoe Basin.

"First of all, it's a wonderful addition to the inventory of buildings at a campus this size," said SNC interim president Larry Large. "It doesn't get any better than this."

The collaboration between SNC, the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of California, Davis, and the Desert Research Institute will allow SNC students to reap the benefits of working alongside some of the world's most renowned scholars and researchers, Large said.

The building will also offer many opportunities for the Tahoe Basin community, as the building will be open to the public.

"It will be a resource to the whole community because it will attract researchers and scientists from all around the world," Large said. "Another benefit will be demonstration projects that will make accessible the information and interpretation of scientific research."

SNC Board of Trustees member Jim Steinmann agreed with Large on the benefits that will be available to SNC students and the Tahoe community.

"The community is welcome to come by and witness all the things going on," Steinmann said. "Hopefully people in the community will come over and stop by."

UC Davis is also planning to bring elementary students from around the greater Reno/Tahoe area to experience the building.

The building, some 45,000 square feet, will house laboratories, offices and classrooms for all of the agencies in collaboration in this project and is set to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum rating.

"This building was built to a standard of advanced research because of (the collaboration) with UC Davis," Steinmann said. "The standard of labs and learning environment is the best you'll find at an undergrad institution anywhere in the country. Students are going to benefit from being in a real high class lab instead of a just a classroom."

Classes will start in the TCES Monday morning, the first day of school at SNC. The grand opening of the TCES is set for 2 p.m. on Oct. 14 with various activities Oct. 12 and 13 as well, all of which will be open to the public, Large said.

"(The opening) will be SNC's and its partners' day in the sun," Large said. "It will show the rest of the world as well as the community the world class studies that go on here."

Attributes for TCES Platinum rating by the Leadership of Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Pull-Out box.



- Venting towers recover heat from exhaust air and preheat fresh air, reducing heating costs while maintaining high air quality.

- Light shelves are used to refract natural light from the sun inside the building up to thirty feet. The glass walls of offices pass light to the corridors. Light-colored countertops do not absorb light, essentially recycling light in the labs. Light supplied by the skylights and windows changes in intensity and color throughout the day, creating a more natural, healthy environment.

- Trees harvested from the building site were milled in place, saving energy expenses of transport. Their wood was used for finishing work. Unmilled wood was shredded and used for erosion control and ground cover.

- A co-generator produces electricity and the waste heat is recovered and used for heating the building through special tubing embedded in the floor. This heat would be lost to the atmosphere if the electricity was generated by a utility. It is estimated that the co-generator cuts the carbon impact of our electricity consumption by two-thirds.

- Trex material will be used for the exterior walkways. Trex is made of recycled plastic grocery bags, stretch film, reclaimed wood and sawdust.

- A compressed natural gas (CNG) pump will by located behind the building. SNC and UC Davis staffs plan to use CNG vehicles to promote environmental stewardship.

- The building's structural concrete contains fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion, converting that waste into a resource.

- Rain and melted snow are captured, sterilized by ultraviolet rays from the sun and stored for use in the building's toilets.

- 875 photovoltaic solar panels cover a section of the roof and generate much of the electricity used in the building.

- Cold water is produced at night using the cold air and is stored in two buried 10,000-gallon tanks. This water cools the building by day. The system conserves energy compared to a conventional air conditioning system. The cooling system uses the same radiant panels as the heating system, reducing construction materials.



FAST FACTS PULL-OUT BOX

What: Tahoe Center for Environmental Studies; three stories, 45,000 square feet with classrooms and laboratories for students and research facilities for the Desert Research Institute, the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of California, Davis. The Thomas J. Long Foundation Education Center includes a learning center about Lake Tahoe with a 3-D visualization lab.



Where: Incline Village campus of Sierra Nevada College.



When: Construction began May 2, 2005; opening Aug. 21; grand opening Oct. 14.



Cost: $25 million.