It has a brain.
It uses the sun to save and generate energy
It is a "building that teaches."
Sonoma State University will dedicate its long-awaited Environmental Technology Center on Aug.17 as the $1 million building is officially opened to the public.
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. It evolved from an alternative-energy center built on the campus in the 1970s to this 21st century "hands-on" environmental science laboratory and classroom.
The 3 p.m. Friday ceremonies will feature comments by SSU President Dr. Ruben Arminana, U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey and State Secretary of Education Kerri Mazzoni.
Dr. Rocky Rohwedder, an environmental science professor, will provide an overview of the vision for the building as well as the historical development of this state-of-the-art facility.
"By blending together the wisdom of nature with the latest thinking in environmental science and technology, we have designed a building that teaches a simple lesson -- you can build beautiful, functional spaces to live and work that have far less impact on the planet while saving significant amounts of energy and money."
Current ETC director Dr. Alexandra Von Meier, an environmental science professor, will discuss future uses of the building and provide insight into it's importance.
The grand opening will also feature student-led tours of the building, live jazz, food from the adjacent EarthLab organic gardens, and local wines.
The ETC is a 2,200 square-foot building that 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.
This allows the ETC to save 80% of the energy that would be used by a typical building that met California energy codes and relied on the use of conventional air-conditioning and heaters.
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 objective of the building is to serve as a demonstration center, a teaching space, and a laboratory for researching energy efficient technologies and design. It was designed in a participatory process by SSU faculty, students, and design professionals from Sonoma County and around the country.
Conceived as a "Building That Teaches," the facility illustrates state-of-the-art energy efficiency and environmentally-responsible design made accessible to students, professionals, and the general public.
Many of the construction materials were made from recycled products, such as recycled glass tiles in the bathroom, crushed sunflower seed work counters, recycled plastic lumber among others.
The concrete slab floor is the first of its kind in the U.S. to replace half the usual amount of Portland cement with rice hull ash and flyash, waste products from power plants. Portland cement production is responsible for about 5% of the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Funding for the project amounted to $458,920 from Sonoma State University, $370,650 from the National Science Foundation, $215,000 from the Petroleum Violation Escrow Fund administered through the California Energy Commission, and $12,000 to date from private donations.
Architect for the ETC was George Beeler of AIM Associates. The structure was built by McCarthy Building Companies.
The university is planning regular public tours of the ETC soon. Workshops and seminars with building, design and construction professionals are also being scheduled. For more information on tours and other ETC programs, call (707) 664-2577
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact information:
Dr. Rocky Rohwedder, Environmental Science professor, (707) 664-2249
Dr. Alexandra von Meier, ETC Director, (707) 664-2430
Digital photos and illustrations of the process of energy conservation within the ETC are available upon request. Download a PDF file that shows the highlights of how the ETC saves energy by clicking here
Tchaikovsky's one and only Violin Concerto, Opus 35 in D Major, requires the touch of genius. "Even the violinist it was written for," Corrick Brown says, "rejected it as being too difficult to play." Brown, Conductor Laureate of the Santa Rosa Symphony, chuckles at the thought. "Imagine telling Tchaikovsky to 'keep it simple.' "
Israeli-born, Texas-raised Nurit Pacht has the musical gifts to take on this virtuoso challenge. And Sonoma County will have the good fortune to watch her do so.
On Saturday, August 11, Nurit Pacht joins the Santa Rosa Symphony for Sonoma State University's evening of rich, romantic classical music known as Midsummer Night on the Green. Jeffrey Kahane will conduct the Santa Rosa Symphony in an all-Tchaikovsky concert beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Current Symphony conductor Jeffrey Kahane says he was "knocked out" when he first heard Pacht's playing. He found her approach "extremely imaginative and intense; not typically modern but creative and very free."
Pacht has had to develop the technical and emotional depth such a challenging piece demands. She made her first public appearance on national television in a solo performance on PBS at the age of 12 years old. Now 28, she has since been featured in concerts in more than a dozen countries, gracing many of the world's great concert halls from New York's Metropolitan Museum to Washington's Kennedy Center, Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet, Vienna's Musikverein and London's Wigmore Hall.
Her musical interests are wide-ranging. She has performed with avant-garde collaborators, Philip Glass and Robert Wilson. In 1998-99, she traveled to India to play violin-sarangi duets composed for her by Pandit Ram Narayan, a world-renown sarangi virtuoso.
Everywhere she performs on her one-of-a-kind concert violin (fabricated in 1678 by Nicola Amati), listeners are left breathless. Charles Michener wrote in a 1997 New York Observer review: " Ms. Pacht delivered a program of Beethoven, Ravel and Bruch that I expect to lodge in my memory as a sort of 'I was there' encounter with an extraordinary talent at the beginning of major things."
She has been hailed as "a great artist" (Le Monde) who "possesses?he fabric of the greatest violinists of the Century" (Le Journal de Geneve).
Tchaikovsky was already well known when he composed his only Violin Concerto. In fact, he wrote it in 1878, the same year that his Symphony No. 4, sometimes referred to as "Fate," was first performed in Moscow.
Not coincidentally, his Fourth Symphony will be the other masterpiece featured on August 11 at Midsummer Night on the Green.
But Tchaikovsky wasn't in Moscow for "Fate"'s opening. He was touring Europe in order to restore his fragile mental health. In Switzerland, a young violin virtuoso and former student, Yosif Kotek, came calling.
Tchaikovsky had always admired his talents so he undertook to write a concerto for him. Only a month later, he had his first draft. But because Kotek was too young to take on such an important premier, Tchaikovsky offered its debut to the leading violinist in Russia, Leopold Auer.
Auer declared the concerto "too difficult to play."
"Of course," Corrick Brown says, "Tchaikovsky had the last laugh. Auer eventually saw the error of his ways and begged for a chance to play it. By then, the Concerto in D Major had taken its place in the world's repertoire of great violin compositions."
"Tchaikovsky, Kahane and Pacht," Corrick Brown grins. "It should be an amazing evening of music."
Sonoma State University opens its gates at 4 p.m. for picnicking. Food, dinners and fine wine (courtesy of Hanna Winery) will be available. Ticket prices are: lawn, adult, $28; youth, $7; family, $70;reserve table $48,; table of eight, $375. Tickets can be purchased by calling (707) 546-8742.
For more information:
Grammy award-winning Joe Lovano and his Nonet (nine-piece jazz ensemble) will pour out, swing through, blow-and-deliver, their sound at 5 p.m., Sunday, August 12 at Sonoma State University's inaugural "Jazz on the Green" concert.
"In the world of music, not just jazz, Joe Lovano is the real thing," says Santa Rosa Symphony Music Director, Jeffrey Kahane. Stepping into his new role as Artistic Director of the Festival on the Green, Kahane insisted on centering this season's jazz concert around Lovano.
"I'm telling you that we may not have the opportunity to book him in a few years. But this summer, to be able to stretch out under the evening sky and let artistry of his caliber wash over us, well, that's what music in Sonoma County is all about."
Lovano has been heralded as nothing less than a "savior" by The New Yorker, a "sublimely confident player with provocative musical ideas and the vigor to bring them crying forth" by The Atlanta Journal. The Village Voice raved, "Move over, Pavarotti. The greatest Italian tenor around today isn't Luciano, but Lovano."
Recently, The New York Times described him as "one of the greatest musicians in jazz history."
Sonoma State University will open its gates at 3 p.m. for picnicking by the lakes area on the Rohnert Park campus. To enhance the evening, food and fine wine, provided by the Geyser Peak Winery, will be available to patrons.
From 3 to 5 p.m., a special children's' area will offer activities for young people. General admission is $22. No charge for youths under 20. Reserved table is $35. Table for 8 is $270. Tickets can be purchased by calling 707-546-8742.
The campus is located at 1801 E. Cotati Ave., in Rohnert Park.
For more information:
http://festival.sonoma.edu
Sonoma State University's Lifelong Learning Institute has received a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation for $100,000 to insure funding for its first year of operation, reports Dean Les Adler of the university's School of Extended Education.
Adler notes that the Osher grant "will play a critical role in financing the institute," which has been supported in its start-up phase by over $130,000 in first-year donations from the Friends of the Lifelong Learning Institute as well as additional contributions from the university itself.
Ed Stolman, who first sparked the organization of LLI, said the Osher grant came through due to the foundation's interest in lifelong learning. "Because of their interest in this field they are attracted to what we are doing," Stolman said. He noted that the foundation recently made a contribution to the University of Maine's lifelong learning institute formation on six of its campuses.
"They have been wonderful in giving us this grant," Stolman said, "and they are willing to look at it again next year. If the Institute is successful, we hope to establish an on-going relationship with the Osher Foundation with the goal of providing permanence for lifelong learning in the North Bay region."
The Lifelong Learning Institute's fall session will begin in September with eight courses taught by faculty and academic specialists representing a variety of academic disciplines. Courses are open to any North Bay resident over 50 years of age.
For further information, phone (707) 664-2691
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Les Adler, Lifelong Learning Institute, (707) 664-2449
Old town charm and contextual design faced off with utilitarian and commercial expediency as the Cabernet and Vinegar Awards were given out from a list of Sonoma County's public buildings.
The ten best and ten worst buildings were selected from nominations made by Sonoma State University urban design students and their professor, Dr. Steven C. Orlick. An audience of professional planners, architects, and interested members of the public selected the winners during an evening presentation on July 9 at the Sonoma County Library in Santa Rosa.
The focus of the awards was that aspect of community planning concerned with creating pleasurable and cohesive visual environments, Urban Design. A primary focus of Urban Design is the overall appearance of communities, their impression of visual unity, "sense of place," and "imageability," Orlick told the audience.
"The Cabernet Awards are given for outstanding contributions of individual buildings to the visual environments of their communities. The Vinegar Awards signify places where a community's visual image has been seriously damaged or eroded," the professor said.
Below are the top ten in each category from a field of 25 best and 25 worst nominations. Included for each winner is the rationale provided for its initial nomination.
BEST BUILDINGS IN SONOMA COUNTY
1. Duhring Bldg. (reconst.), E. Napa St./1st St. E., Sonoma
Burned to the ground about a decade ago, it was painstakingly rebuilt just as it historically existed for over a century on this important corner opposite the Sonoma Plaza. Many of the original bricks were reused in the reconstruction. A nice touch is the inclusion of the two construction dates, a hundred years apart, on the front. "This building continues to contribute to the unique identity of the Sonoma Plaza area."
2. Petaluma Community Center, N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma
Unlike many, if not most, public buildings constructed in recent years, this one is an "elegant landmark." Its exciting design, splashes of color, extensive landscaping, pedestrian friendliness, and its attractive siting adjacent to a small lake, makes this a public building to take pride in.
3., 4. (TIE)
Sebastopol Police Department, Laguna Park Way, Hwy 116, Sebastopol
Sebastopol's Police Station is unlike many, if not most, public buildings these days whose primary design concern appears to be to demonstrate to the taxpayers how cheaply they were built (refer back to the criticism of Healdsburgís Police Station and other Vinegar nominations). This downtown building has a real sense of permanence and even elegance. The design is clearly modern, yet it relates to its older neighbors well in terms of scale, color, and detail. Red brick is the dominant building material, though it is of varying shades that are artfully arranged in alternating horizontal lines. This building adds color to this otherwise dull area of the downtown, but not so much as to call attention to itself. "This building will be a continuing source of pride and enjoyment for Sebastopol's residents, and is a model of what public buildings can be."
Matanzas Creek Winery, Bennett Valley Rd., S. Rosa (uninc.)
This is not really an "urban" design, but it nevertheless demonstrates "designing with nature," rather than attacking it. The winery is built low on the hillside above the fertile valley floor, yet is designed to have minimal visual impact. The structure itself is low in scale and earth toned. The winery has a number of noteworthy pieces of public art on display, and many places to sit under large oaks. It is partially surrounded by extensive lavender gardens. The winery seems to beckon visitors "to come, stay, and enjoy."
5., 6. (TIE)
Fountaingrove Inn/Equus Rest., Mendo./Fountaingrove Pkwy., S. Rosa
Located on a highly visible site adjacent to an extremely busy
intersection, it is hard to imagine a project more visually suited to its context. Unlike the blatant disregard for nature associated with most of the other office and high tech industrial buildings in Fountaingrove, its low height is ideal, not blocking the view of the hillside or the historic Round Barn behind and above it. The thoughtful choice of materials and colors used on its exterior, dark wood and light stone, further complements both the natural conditions on the hillside and site, as well as the prominent Round Barn structure. "This building is truly art." "It displays a sense of pride and dignity." "Even its signs are works of art, especially the dramatic carved wooden horse heads."
Swenson Bldg., Phase I, Healdsburg Ave/Plaza St., Healdsburg
(The students referred to this as the "clock tower bldg.") Though it is a large structure, it is articulated to look like a series of attached smaller buildings. It isn1t a new building designed to look old, but rather a new building that understands the sensitivity of its location and minimizes contrast. Variations in the roofline are particularly effective. The clock tower definitely is a noteworthy downtown landmark. "Anyone who didn't know better would think that this building always has stood with the older structures across the street and nearby."
7. Seventh St. Parking Garage, 7th Street, Santa Rosa
"This is what a parking structure can be." The use of red brick and an interesting front entrance complements nearby structures. The date above the entrance demonstrates a sense of history and civic pride. The stepped back floors help maintain a smaller scale along the street for pedestrians. "More thought and care seem to have gone into the design of this garage than went into the design of the Brickyard Center across the street." "Surprisingly, a parking garage can make a positive contribution to the street."
8., 9. (TIE)
Finley Community Center, W. College Ave., Santa Rosa
This is a large, attractive complex surrounded by several acres of park land. Although low in height, its crafted redwood exterior, landscaping and surrounding green space make this public building a unique landmark, especially in contrast with the visual uniformity that characterizes much of the newer development in this part of Santa Rosa.
Barnes & Noble (remodel), 4th/"D" Streets, Santa Rosa
This building represents a significant remodeling of the former Rosenberg's Department Store. Saved from the wrecker1s ball, in its new incarnation, the Art Deco building with its lighted tower continues to be a distinctive and widely admired downtown landmark. "Its unique style, bright, cheery new colors, and extensive pedestrian friendly windows, help give downtown Santa Rosa its unique sense of place."
10. Swenson Bldg., Phase II, Healdsburg Ave./North St., Healdsburg
Standing behind and adjacent to the clock tower building, it is similar in many respects to its direct neighbor, yet contains elements and details, such as its roofline and window treatments, that give it a unique presence. It also looks like a collection of smaller, attached structures. "It is a new building that (like its neighbor) understands and reflects its context."
WORST BUILDINGS IN SONOMA COUNTY
1. Pacific Bell/AT&T Bldg., Between 2nd & 3rd Sts., Santa Rosa
This structure is really two attached buildings. It occupies most of one rectangular downtown city block. Its scale is overpowering and unsettling, dwarfing all nearby buildings. Its lack of windows and giant exposed antennae on the roof suggests that the structure1s design is strictly utilitarian. There is nothing for the pedestrian on the adjacent sidewalks to look at but blank walls. It is "a massive dead space in the heart of downtown." (And now it has served as a model for the contextual design of others!)
2. Santa Rosa Town Center, S. Santa Rosa Ave./Hwy. 101, Santa Rosa
This is another typical grouping of medium sized boxes housing chain stores around a sea of parking. Everything about the center has the feeling of cheapness and impermanence so common along strip commercial roadways. It is yet another auto dominated development on the Santa Rosa Avenue strip where the pedestrian has been forgotten. Besides having a loud color scheme, the false fronts on the buildings contain fake, oversized windows. "This center looks like a bad Hollywood stage set." What makes this even worse is that it is all highly visible from Highway 101. The name of this complex is presumptuous, and even arrogant, an attempt to give the impression that this particular collection of chain stores has a greater role in the City of Santa Rosa than it achieves in fact and earns by its appearance. "This center is shocking and repulsive." "What was the City thinking when it approved it, including its name?"
3.,4. (TIE) Petaluma Outlet Mall No. Petaluma Bl./Fac. Outlet Wy, Petaluma.
The entire complex faces inward, showing a blank backside in all directions. It is not intended to be seen from anywhere! The scale of the buildings for the pedestrian is good, but this is obviously a collection of shops to be reached only by car. The varied shapes and splashes of color create interest, though there is too much concrete and metal, and dominant color being gray. The use of animal feed troughs for planters is perhaps novel, though it is hard to believe the buildings were modeled after barns in the Petaluma area. The complex lacks energy and life. "Where are the customers? It's like walking through a ghost town." In conclusion, "artificial attempts at uniqueness can all too often equal ugliness."
Rattigan State of Calif. Bldg., 2nd and "D" Streets, Santa Rosa
The large rectangular mass of the Joseph A. Rattigan State Building dwarfs every other nearby building. Its style is clearly contemporary and dramatic, though its dominant materials (concrete and dark reflective glass) and harsh angles contrast severely with nearby older and smaller structures. It has an intimidating, even foreboding feel; completely lacking in any design features or elements that would bring it down to the human scale. This massive structure could be located in any large metropolitan city, but in the context of Santa Rosa in general, and downtown Santa Rosa in particular, it seems like "an elephant in the living room."
5. Roxy Stadium 14 Cinemas, Santa Rosa Ave./1st St., Santa Rosa
Who would ever guess that a new building dedicated to entertainment and escape would have as its design inspiration the Pacific Bell/AT&T Building? This is a case where contextual design does not produce an asset to the community1s visual environment. The blank side walls lack anything of interest to look at, having horizontal lines that are reflections of those on sides of the Pacific Bell/AT&T Building! (Even the dominant exterior color is the same shade of pale yellow as is on the Pacific Bell?AT&T Building!). There is lots of foot traffic along the walkways on the sides of the building, yet there is nothing but dead space for pedestrians to look at. The new cafÈ in the front of the building may provide something of interest to see for those theater goers standing in line. Oddly enough, for a new building, the Roxy has a look of impermanence about it. The marquees on the front of the building look flimsy, are utilitarian at best, and lack any of the excitement, aesthetic character and grandness associated with those on classic older theater buildings that have been restored and retained in downtowns elsewhere. In fact, there is nothing "grand" about the appearance of this theater complex, except perhaps that it is a "grand visual disappointment."
6.,7.,8.(TIE)
Yardbirds Center, Bicentennial/Mendocino Ave., S. Rosa
Here is a large retail development that will never win a "Designed with Nature" award. The site of the center was created by removing the top of a hill. The center was designed and constructed so as to be highly visible from a large area of northern Santa Rosa, including from Highway 101. In truth, there is nothing about this development that inherently required it to be built up in the air on a hillside. It could have been located in many more suitable, (i.e., flat) locations (for example, it wouldn1t be surprising to find it amongst the new developments on Santa Rosa Ave.). "Whatever the economic benefits of the development might be, they come as the consequence of a savage attack and devouring of a highly visible hillside, and a blatant misuse of our environment."
887 2nd St., 2nd Street near Brookwood, Santa Rosa
This building is quite small, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for with bright, gross, attention-grabbing colors. It is out of context with the entire street, including the building of the same "style" next door to the west, and certainly with converted old houses to the east and nearby. "Though the building lacks a visible sign, the entire building must function as a sign!" "The building looks like it was made of legos!" It would be a bad building anywhere.
McDonald's Restaurant, Healdsburg Ave./Hwy 101, Healdsburg
Located at the primary southern gateway off Highway 101, the building has a standard, garish and tasteless design that sharply contrasts with the historical and older structures on Healdsburg Ave. and in the Plaza area. Although it is covered with banners and flags, the most offensive thing about this building is its location, providing visitors with their first impression of the town. Its design suggests that "Healdsburg is like everywhere else."
9. Sonoma County Hall of Justice, Santa Rosa
This is another undistinguished public building in a complex of drab, utilitarian, depressing buildings. This building lacks any visual interest or attractiveness, and for a Hall of Justice, there is nothing noble or inspiring about it. It lacks significant landscaping, there is no sense of cohesiveness with other buildings in the County Administrative complex, and there is no connection with anything in the built or natural environment beyond the complex. "The entire County Administrative Center is visually loathsome."
10. Santa Rosa Marketplace, Santa Rosa
This sizable shopping center is undistinguished in almost every respect. The design theme of the buildings is the historical "hop kiln." There are hop kiln like structures placed randomly atop the rooflines of the buildings, especially those of the "big box" stores. The buildings are painted in the same garish turquoise and red color scheme. They are oddly spaced far apart, encouraging or requiring people to drive within the center from store to store. It surely is unsafe for customers to attempt to walk across the acres of central parking lots and roadways. "This entire shopping center is a pedestrian's nightmare." "This center is a visual liability on a visually impoverished street."
Julie D.R.L. Meyer of Vallejo, a Sonoma State University student and single parent who has overcome a lifetime of adversity, has been named one of six recipients of the William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement. The award carries with it a $3,000 scholarship and is made annually by the California State University Foundation. Competition for this program includes nominees from each of the twenty three CSU campuses.
Meyer has overcome poverty, family dysfunction, sexual abuse, domestic violence and racism to become a tutor, a role model and a community volunteer. She is a re-entry student and has established a loving home environment for her two sons, age 10 and 13 years.
George Urdzik, the University's Financial Aid Officer, said "Julie Meyer epitomises the kind of student the Trustees envisioned when establishing this recognition award for outstanding academic performance under trying circumstances, and a superior commitment to community service. I am most proud to have forwarded her nomination".
Meyer is an active member of the Filipino American Community, an affiliate of the Cabadbaran Cultural Dance Troupe, presents dance and vocal presentations in Northern California, has raised money for hurricane and monsoon victims and has raised awareness and money for the Filipino Task Force on AIDS. She is also a musician and volunteer at a community center in San Francisco.
Meyer is a Liberal Studies Major who wants to obtain a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential so she can teach and mentor students from low income families and multicultural backgrounds.
