Add as a preferred source on Google

Student Center Goes From Dreary to Vibrant

  • 11/01/15
Student Center Goes From Dreary to Vibrant

Transforming the student center at Waukesha County Technical College required new and vibrant lighting. Solatube was up to the challenge.

The Waukesha Campus of Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) in Waukesha, WI, includes a service building, which housed a student center in need of new life.

“The cave-like environment of the student gathering area was very oppressive. It was truly incredible to see the transformation of the space once the Solatube units were installed,” says Keith Johnson, owner of Brighter Concepts.

Dubbed “the cave” for its dark and gloomy atmosphere, the student center was unpopular with students. With a budget of $600,000, the school sought to transform the dark and dreary environment into a bright and cheerful place where students would want to congregate.

According to Matthew Kerr, IIDA, ASAI, senior associate and interior designer at Zimmerman Architectural Studios, the renovation’s main objectives were filling the space with natural light and creating auditory separation without disrupting the visual “openness” of the existing space.

Local Solatube Certified Commercial Distributor, Brighter Concepts, installed twelve Solatube SolaMaster 750 DS Core Units. The units integrated with LED lighting for nighttime use and maximum energy efficiency. Custom square-shaped fabric lanterns added a decorative element at the ceiling level.

According to Brooks Kyler-Eberlein, WCTC interior design instructor, the addition of Solatube Daylighting Systems took “the cave” from an underused, dark space to a vibrant, active hub for students. The use of natural light by day and LED light by night also provided WCTC with an efficient long-term solution to energy costs.

www.solatube.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Texas State University Completes Stadium Renovations

    Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, recently announced that it has completed a series of additions and renovations to its football stadium, according to a news release. Formerly known as the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex, the Johnny and Nathali Weisman Football Performance Center is an 85,000-square-foot expansion featuring hospitality spaces, banquet spaces, exterior concourses, and upgrades to the field house.

  • Construction Begins on East Austin CTE-Focused High School

    The Del Valle Independent School District recently announced that construction has begun on a new CTE-focused high school in Austin, Texas, according to a news release. Del Valle High School will measure in at 473,338 square feet and have the capacity for 2,400 students.

  • sapling sprouting from a cracked stone

    Lessons in Resilience: Disaster Recovery in Our Schools

    Facility managers play a pivotal role in how well a school weathers and recovers from a crisis. Whether it's a hurricane, a flood, a tornado, or a man-made event, preparation determines resilience.

  • Malibu High School Campus Completes $102M Phase 1 of Construction

    Malibu High School in Malibu, Calif., recently announced that it has completed phase 1 of construction for its new campus, a news release reports. The first phase consisted of developing and modernizing the site of a former elementary school into a new, 70,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

Digital Edition