Page 3 - College Planning & Management, April/May 2019

Campus Scene IN THE SPOTLIGHT
New Fine Arts Center for San Diego Mesa College
Ask the Expert
This Month
Smart Campuses
What are some features
of a ‘smart campus?’
AS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS STRIVE
to provide a safe, comfortable, and productive learning environment, the idea of creating a “smart campus” has become more top-of- mind for school leaders, and systems integra- tion can help achieve this goal.
By connecting once disparate systems, data can be collected and aggregated from dif- ferent building applications into a centralized location. This streamlined approach allows institutions to analyze the data more easily, which can ultimately help administrators make actionable, data-based decisions to improve operational efficiencies and become more intelligent. While the systems integration process may sound complicated, accomplish- ing connectivity is more attainable than many may think as existing building solutions, such as lighting, can act as the building blocks for a smarter campus.
Lighting is a core component of any building, but on campus it plays a major role in the productivity and comfort of students and faculty. When integrated with other building systems, like sensors and heating and cooling systems, lighting can work as the founda-
tion to a more intelligent and sustainable campus. By connecting with sensors, indoor lighting systems can receive insights on when classrooms are in use to turn on and modify lighting levels accordingly and outdoor light- ing structures around the perimeter in parking lots can be alerted to automatically adjust to the available daylight.
Heating and cooling systems can also communicate with the lighting network and sensors to control the indoor temperature based on the weather. In both cases, systems integration can not only help a campus be- come smarter and more operationally sound, but the unified solutions can also uncover great energy savings.
Julie Brown is an institutional market leader for Johnson Controls, Building Solutions North America (www.johnsoncontrols.com).
A NEW $15.9-MILLION FINE ARTS BUILDING has been completed at San Diego Mesa College—a four-story, 26,500-square-foot facility that unites the pro- gram’s departments into a single modernized building. The new space facilitates ex- periential teaching and collaboration, enhancing the department’s ability to provide a comprehensive fine arts education program and hands-on experience for students.
The new integrated building provides a hub for the college’s photography, digital graphics, drawing, painting, ceramics, and sculpting classes and studios.
The building is designed to obtain LEED Silver certification as a result of reusing existing structures, optimizing energy performance, using low-emitting materials, and other energy-efficient measures.
C.W. Driver Companies partnered with architecture firm Hanna Gabriel Wells on the project.
U-M to Purchase
Renewable Energy
The University of Michigan (U-M) is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emis- sions significantly with an agreement to buy renewable energy that will result in about half of the purchased electricity for the Ann Arbor campus coming from Michigan-sourced renewable resources.
U-M announced in early April that it has committed to purchase approximate- ly 200,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy annually beginning in 2021. Com- bined with other U-M emission reduction
efforts, the renewable-energy agreement will enable U-M to achieve its 2025 green- house gas reduction goal of reducing GHG emissions 25 percent below 2006 levels. U-M’s renewable-energy purchase
will remove nearly 141,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually—the green- house gas equivalent of taking more than 30,000 cars off the road for a year.
Currently, the majority of U-M’s emissions come from natural gas, for which there is no readily available sub- stitute at the scale needed to support the mission of the university. CPM
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