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HCC Design Is Down To Earth

Tribune photo by ROBERT BURKE

Dean of student services, Steve Stancil, left, and Allen Witt, dean of academic services, are ready for business at new South Shore campus of Hillsborough Community College.

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By LOIS KINDLE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 11, 2008

Updated:

RUSKIN - More than five years in the making, the first of six buildings to eventually comprise the SouthShore campus of Hillsborough Community College is complete.

Students taking classes in the 55,000-square-foot structure may not be fully aware of its environmentally friendly design, but they certainly appreciate their new digs.

"It's beautiful," said Kelly Knox, 20, a sophomore who began taking Alfred Lilienthal's philosophy and ethics class June 30. "I like the modern look, the floor-to-ceiling windows and the fact that it's so close to home."

Classmate Ivan Sada, 22, of Ruskin, and who is a full-time student at the University of South Carolina, agreed.

"It's pretty neat," he said. "I came home and found a brand new campus here. I'm taking summer classes, and I used to have to drive all the way to the Dale Mabry campus."

Built at a cost of about $16.5 million, the ultramodern building includes 12 classrooms; a Wi-Fi-ready learning resource center; six labs for science, math, computers and reading; a student cyber cafe; a student services section; faculty and administrative offices; a 168-seat community room for public events; and a partnership center, which is an area dedicated to four-year colleges that partner with HCC to help students earn a bachelor's or master's degree at the SouthShore site.

"The building is structurally complete, and we have the" certificate of occupancy, said Steve Stancil, dean of student services. "All that's left are some finishing touches and landscaping."

The facility has received an initial LEED certification of gold by the U.S. Green Building Council, he said, adding the college hopes to maintain gold in the final certification process.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. The rating system was created to establish a common standard of measurement to define a green building; promote whole-building design practices; recognize environmental leadership in the building industry; promote green competition; raise consumer awareness of green building benefits; and transform the habits of the building market.

The rating is based on five areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, energy efficiency, water savings, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Using those criteria and a corresponding 69-point system, the council rates buildings and awards them one of four levels of certification: certified, 26 to 32 points; silver, 33 to 38; gold, 39 to 51; and platinum, 52 to 69.

HCC, which scored a 39, was recognized for the building's environmentally sound design and resulting operational practices. One element is the campus parking lot, which has raised areas that allow water to run off into the ground. Another is the building's water reclamation design, which funnels rainwater from a specially designed roof through a channel that leads to a reservoir. The water is then filtered and used for irrigation and plumbing.

Other elements include floors raised a foot off the foundation so that air conditioning flows under the carpet, allowing hot air in a room to rise and then cool only the portion of the room that needs it; indoor lighting that dims with the presence of natural light provided by floor-to-ceiling windows; an east-west footprint that limits heat absorption and maximizes light; outdoor lights positioned to turn on at sunrise and off at dusk.

Yes, it's more expensive to build green, said George Keith, the campus president.

"It's like building a home," he said. "The overall cost depends on what you decide to put into it and the materials used. During construction, we responsibly used materials that were domestic products, either recycled or naturally produced.

"But it's almost impossible to put a price tag on the surcharge for being Earth friendly. The point of doing it is the payback over time in social responsibility or cost savings on energy and water to the college."

Another feature is the 21st century classrooms.

"It's no longer just talk and chalk," Keith said. "The technology in each classroom gives us the ability to use media and the Internet, computer software and projection to assist with instruction. Part of the criteria used for hiring instructors at this college is their familiarity with this technology. But the bottom-line exchange of a community college is still person-to-person."

IN THE GREEN

WHAT: Hillsborough Community College's SouthShore campus

WHERE: 551 24th St. S.E., Ruskin

ARCHITECT: Everett Henderson Jr. of Gould Evans

BUILDER: Skanska USA

COST: About $16.5 million

GREEN FEATURES: pitched parking lot; variable fluorescent lighting; globally positioned exterior lighting; rainwater recycling channels for water reclamation system; motion sensors in all rooms; floors raised a foot above the foundation; cabinetry and countertops made of recycled products

PRESIDENT: George Keith

INITIAL PROGRAMS: Registered nursing, emergency medical technician, certified nursing assistant; associate of arts in liberal arts

FALL REGISTRATION: Ongoing though Aug. 21, when classes begin

ANTICIPATED FALL ENROLLMENT: 1,200

TUITION: $78.74 per credit hour, Florida residents; $281.27, out-of-state residents

INFORMATION: (813) 672-6100 or (813) 672-6101

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampatrib.com.

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