Add as a preferred source on Google

SRG Partnership Designs Net Zero Energy Building for OSU Cascades Campus

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/23/21

Architecture firm SRG Partnership recently announced that it has designed a Net Zero energy building for the Cascades Campus of Oregon State University in Bend, Ore. Edward J. Ray Hall will serve as a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) learning center featuring both interior and exterior active learning spaces. The facility has a Net Zero energy target and a structure made of regionally sourced mass timber.

The 50,000-square-foot, four-story building will be the first to take advantage of a 46-acre site that the university acquired for campus expansion. The site contains a reclaimed pumice mine, and a press release notes that Edward J. Ray Hall will stand at the top of the mine’s steep eastern rim, serving as a gateway between the existing campus and future developments in and around the former mine’s bowl.

Edward J Ray Hall at Oregon State University Cascades Campus

The use of mass timber ties into the university’s commitment to sustainability, using locally sourced renewable materials and leaving a low carbon footprint. The building’s east-west orientation, along with large windows and vertical shading devices, allows it to take advantage of the sun’s position to maximize daylight while reducing glare and summer heat. The roof will feature an array of photovoltaics as a source of on-site renewable solar energy for the building.

The design and prototype process focused on accommodating as wide a variety of education activities as possible to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, social equity, and sustainability. Edward J. Ray Hall serves as a scalable, adaptable proof of concept that will serve as a template for future buildings while leaving plenty of room for adaptation unique to these future buildings’ purpose, location, and conditions.

The total cost of the new facility is estimated at $49 million, and it is scheduled to open in fall 2021. Various donors contributed a total of $10 million to match funds provided by the state.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Howard Community College President Joins National Research Council

    Howard Community College President Daria J. Willis was recently appointed to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on Research and Community College Trends and Issues, according to a news release.

  • KI Launches K–12 Classroom Furniture Giveaway

    Contract furniture company KI recently announced the launch of its fourth-annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway, which awards $50,000 each to four K–12 educators across the U.S., according to a news release. The goal is to address decreasing student engagement and increasing teacher burnout numbers by updating learning spaces to accommodate modern needs.

  • Anderson Brulé Architects Rebrands as ABA Studios

    Anderson Brulé Architects, based in San Jose, Calif., recently announced that it is celebrating 40 years of service by rebranding under a new name, according to a news release. The architectural, interior design, and planning firm will now be known as ABA Studios to refresh its identity underneath a new generation of leadership.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

Digital Edition