Photos courtesy of Sonoma State University

The Environmental Technology Center (ETC) at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, CA, opened on August 17, 2001. Architect George Beeler, a principal at AIM Associates in California, designed the 2,200-square-foot "building that teaches" with numerous environmentally-friendly materials and features to serve as a laboratory and classroom in the university's EarthLab, an education and research center sponsored by the university's Department of Environmental Studies and Planning, equipped with gardens, demonstration areas, and a greenhouse. The $1 million facility, constructed by McCarthy Building Companies, was designed to hold 20 to 40 students but has a capacity of over 100 for hosting special events.

According to Calpass and Energy-10 estimates, the ETC's power-saving features are expected to reduce energy use by 80 percent compared to similar buildings of its size. The building's actual energy use will be monitored over time to ensure that its systems are working properly.

The energy-efficient features of the ETC include a Trombe wall, which creates a thermal mass that passively heats the building without radiating infrared rays back into the atmosphere. Venetian blinds outside the window are closed in the summer to keep the building cool. A clerestory vents warm air through north-facing openings and provides enough air circulation to cool the building passively without air conditioning. As much light as possible is admitted through the clerestory, south windows, and skylights to minimize active lighting. A photovoltaic system on the roof feeds 3 kilowatt-hours of solar electricity to the building.

Green materials used on the project included rice hull ash and flyash (waste products from power plants) replacing 50 percent of Portland cement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, recycled automobile glass tiles in the bathrooms, countertops made partially of crushed sunflower seeds, and recycled plastic lumber.

"The integrated design team process was crucial to the success of the project," said Beeler, whose team of 13 engineers and consultants played a major role in implementing the environmental features of the ETC.

Editorial intern Anna Pearlstein is a junior majoring in communication at Cornell University.

Anna Pearlstein