The first public open house for Sonoma State University's Environmental Technology Center (ETC) will be held on Sunday, Oct. 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. Tours will be led by the staff and students of the Department of Environmental Studies and Planning every half hour.
This state-of-the-art facility is one of only a handful of buildings in the world designed specifically for the study, research and teaching of sustainable design and environmental technologies.
Facing south and using ancient principles of passive solar design, the structure collects and distributes warm and cold energy through a configuration of concrete walls, rammed earth walls, hot water tubing in the floor and strategically placed windows.
The 2,200 square-foot building is outfitted with a building management system that automatically opens and closes windows, adjusts light shelves, shades and venetian blinds to control and utilize natural sources of light and heat.
The objective of the building is to serve as a demonstration center, a teaching space, and a laboratory for researching energy efficient technologies and design.
Future open houses of the facility are planned for the first Sunday of every month.
For additional information, contact Armando Navarro at (707) 664-2577.
