April 22, 2013
Earth Day is the perfect time to recognize the green schools movement – a nationwide effort to make America’s schools more sustainable while teaching young people about the value of environmental stewardship by providing the facilities and the education to make it happen.
The U.S. Green Building Council’s Arizona Chapter is championing a Green Schools Initiative that will fully implement a unified schools effort by 2014 through engaging all of the branches – including the Sonoran Branch – to make this successful.
“The construction industry has a significant role to play in helping schools improve energy-efficiency, reduce water consumption and interact with the natural environment in a more meaningful way,” says Dan Osterman, Sundt Preconstruction Project Manager and USGBC Sonoran Branch Vice Chair (and Arizona Chapter board member). Dan is also the chair of Sundt’s sustainability committee and our resident expert on green construction.
“Sundt has built a number of LEED certified schools, and in many cases we helped them surpass their original sustainability goals while staying within their budgets,” he added.
The chapter’s plans have been inspired by schools like Manzo Elementary in Tucson, which has made extraordinary efforts to be green. This page includes a short video (located halfway down the page) that shows more about Manzo’s transformation into a vibrant focal point of its neighborhood.
BIM was used to help plan and coordinate the project’s underground site utilities.
Tercero Student Housing Phase III (Tercero 3), Sundt’s $71 million dormitory construction project at the University of California, Davis, is an ideal project for the skilled use of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Why? Because with 108 single-occupancy units and 537 doubles, the university construction project contains many repeating elements that need to be defined with precision before construction actually begins.
“Using BIM is a huge help with detecting constructability issues in order to achieve a high level of quality, especially when you’re dealing with lots of repeating elements,” said Sundt Project Manager Shawn Marty. “For example, with a student housing project you might be placing 600 identical doorknobs. Using BIM allows that scope of work to be isolated and defined with certainty well before we start construction.”
Tercero 3 will span 330,000 square feet across seven, four-story buildings. Multiple lounges, study areas, computer centers and gathering spaces also will be part of the complex, which will surround a landscaped courtyard. Bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly pathways will be woven throughout a diverse landscape of mature trees and native plants.
“Through coordination, the team was able to prefabricate and install pipe that was 30 inches in length without any issues,” added Howard Atkinson, Sundt Senior Virtual Construction Engineer. “Without the BIM process, this would have been impossible. Currently there are no conflicts with this process in the field.”
The sustainable project – which is aiming for LEED Platinum certification – will be complete and open to students in the fall of 2014.
The concrete topping slab will eventually be ground and dyed to provide the final finished flooring.
In the wee hours of yesterday morning, as most of the students at San Diego State University were still asleep, Sundt’s Concrete Division poured the second level radiant concrete topping slab for the university’s new Aztec Student Union. The sustainable building – on track to be California’s first LEED Platinum-certified student union – will feature a radiant flooring system for energy-efficient heating and cooling.
Sundt’s own crews are performing the project’s $7.2 million concrete package, which amounts to approximately 14,500 cubic yards of concrete. The $72 million, Construction Manager at Risk project is scheduled to be complete this fall.
Sundt’s own crews are performing the project’s $7.2 million concrete construction package.
The original 43-year-old student center was demolished to make way for its replacement. The new, three-story student union will accommodate 30,000 students across 205,582 square feet of space, making it twice the size of the one that stood before it. It will serve as the university’s hub for meeting, socializing and studying. Additionally, the union will feature dining options, retail space, 14 meeting rooms and a fitness center.
Sundt is helping San Diego set the bar for LEED green building with the new Aztec Student Union at San Diego State University, slated for completion in the fall of 2013. The original 43-year-old student center was demolished in August to make way for its replacement – a project approved by students and awarded to Sundt two years ago. The architect is Cannon Design.
The $104 million, three-story union will accommodate 30,000 students across 205,582 square feet of space; making it twice the size of the one that stood before it. It will serve as the university’s hub for meeting, socializing and studying. Additionally, the union will feature dining options, retail space, 14 meeting rooms and a fitness center.
Keeping in line with sustainable construction practices, Sundt will recycle and reuse nearly 80 percent of the materials from the original building for this project. The new student union will also boast the latest in green building features, including:
- Solar panels to convert sunlight to energy
- Rooftop vegetation garden to lower greenhouse gas emissions
- Underground water storage tanks to recycle water run-off from storms
- Radiant flooring system of concrete structural slabs to provide heating and cooling mass
- Pervious paving to reduce water run-off and pollutants
- Natural lighting to minimize dependence on artificial lighting
- Operable windows to increase ventilation effectiveness and control
When finished, the new facility will be the first and only LEED Platinum certified student union in the California State Universities system, using 40 percent less energy and water than other similar buildings. To get project updates and see live footage of construction, visit www.aztecstudentunion.com.
Sundt is one of the nation’s top green construction companies. Not only does this sustainable contractor build green buildings for READ MORE 
