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a publication of

no looking back:
also:

norco colleges center for student success becomes a reality office space is green manufacturing possible? How to keep cloud computing grounded

Fall 2011

In this issue: 1 2 6
Whats nEXT?
Dr. Brenda Davis, now retired from Norco College, talks about the changing dynamics of the community college and the impact it has on her students success.

no looking back
Norco College opens their Center for Student Success and gives their students an exciting new experience.

Healthcare Reform and the Design industry


Now that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is well underway, Rick Hall, Healthcare Studio Leader for Harley Ellis Devereaux, gives us his opinion about the state of healthcare design.

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NEXT Editor: Gary L. Skog, FAIA, LEED AP Managing Editor: Judy Little Art Director: Scott A. Withers, AIGA Advisor: J. Peter Devereaux, FAIA, LEED AP Advisor: Ralph J. Mocerino, AIA Contributors: Michael F. Cooper, PE, LEED AP; Rachael V. Cooper; John R. Dale, FAIA, LEED AP; Dr. Brenda Davis; C. Richard Hall, FAIA, ACHA, LEED AP, EDAC; James F. Meredith, AIA, LEED AP; Brent T. Miller, AIA, LEED AP; R. Craig Rutherford, FCPSM; Tania Van Herle, AIA, LEED AP NEXT is a publication of Harley Ellis Devereaux Corporation 2011 Send comments and suggestions to: next@hedev.com Design: Harley Ellis Devereaux Communications

Platforms and Pathways


Why is the place in which we work so important? Read how technology, social networks, and a new generation are affecting our working lives.

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it Takes a Village ... an Urban Village


Stephen Wise Temples new Saperstein Middle School was designed to express the schools motto of developing students with sharp minds, generous hearts, and kind souls.

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Driving Sustainable Manufacturing


Is green manufacturing possible? You bet it is.

Data Dilemma
Cloud computing is not pie in the sky and data center engineers are starting to think differently about how to keep it all grounded and secure.

Printed in the USA on environmentally responsible and sustainable paper with 100% of the fiber from independently certified, well-managed forests, or controlled wood manufactured with electricity in the form of renewable energy (wind, hydro, and biogas) and includes a minimum of 10% postconsumer recovered fiber.

nEXT: Viewpoint
Tania Van Herle, AIA, Managing Principal with Harley Ellis Devereaux in Los Angeles, talks about lifes choices.

Whats NEXT?

Dr. BrENDa DavIs, PhD

PrEsIDENT (rETIrED) Norco collEgE, rIvErsIDE (ca) commuNITy collEgE DIsTrIcT


Norco College recently put out the welcome mat for our new Center for Student Success, and our students could not be happier. They now have a place to hang with their fellow students. To make the Center a success, we learned a lot along the way and are able to apply the lessons learned to whats next for our district. The most important lesson was to listen to our students. By doing so, we discovered our students wanted a place where they could be with their classmates outside of the classroom. We also had research data that showed the more time a student spends on campus engaged in intellectual conversations and activities with other students, the more likely it will be that the student will be successful in their academic coursework. Our students inherently knew something was missing; research told us they needed something. We needed to listen. Today, community college may be the only alternative for students who want a college education. A large number of our students would have attended four-year colleges and universities prior to 2008 and the economic downturn. That dynamic change in student population made us focus even more on their college experience. You cannot separate what happens inside the classroom from what is occurring outside the classroom. It is a very integrated process. The educational experience is greater than just the classroom experience. When I walk the campus, students tell me how much they enjoy having a true college experience. The Center gives them a sense of community and belonging. When I stand in the Center for Student Success and see students using their laptops, chatting, reading, and doing what students do, it is so natural, so seamless. This new place supports them for where they are today and for where they are headed tomorrow.

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No lookINg Back
norco colleges center for student success becomes a reality
by Brent Miller, AIA, LEED AP Higher Education Studio Leader Harley Ellis Devereaux

rIghT To ThE PoINT: The Center for Student Success is the new gateway for Norco College

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Lesson One: Listen

ommunity colleges are not what they used to be. They are facing increasing pressure from the federal government to both report and increase student success rates. Recent reports indicate that at the nearly 1200 community colleges in the United States, more than half of the student population drops out before their second year. Because of this staggering statistic, last year President Obama set a national goal of increasing the number of community college graduates by five million by the year 2020. This reinforces the 2008 Higher Education Act which requires community colleges to track their success.

it is difficult to find an open seat in the center. it is exactly what we wanted.


Dr. Brenda Davis, PhD President (retired) Norco College

part of the riverside community college District in california, opened in 1991 and is currently in its third phase of development. It serves more than 10,000 students each semester and increased enrollment over the last five years has doubled the student population. Student support spaces were limited and sized for a much smaller student enrollment. For example, the food service on campus consisted of not much more than vending machines and some fixed tables. The library was the only option as an informal student gathering space, but because it was primarily a quiet place, it was not suitable for collaboration or casual interaction with fellow students. In addition, the colleges service programs, though well established and organized, were dispersed throughout the campus making them difficult to find and underutilized.
Norco college,

out. Also critical to the campus was improving student awareness of the student service programs available on campus.
On the Outside Looking In

Add to this scenario the changing face of the community college student. As a result of the recent great recession, community college is now the only option for many students who would have traditionally gone to a four-year institution. The community college student is unique and many studies indicate that trying to provide an average profile is difficult at best. However, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement indicates that more than 60 percent of students are part-time students, work more than 20 hours per week, spend one to five hours commuting to and from class, and 53 percent care for a dependent. These students are juggling an education with the rest of their lifes responsibilities, and all of these attributes indicate that time spent on campus needs to be as engaging and as efficient as possible. The campus environment needs to provide support for student success by offering basics such as food, a place to rest, a quiet place to study, and places to collaborate with other students. Research shows that students are successful in their academics if they spend time on campus engaged with college activities.

By listening to their students and focusing on the federal governments mandate, Norco College opened their new state-of-the-art Center for Student Success in the fall of 2010. The Center is the culmination of years of planning and the desire to enhance the college experience for their students. Supported by research data, campus administration was convinced that improving the quality of their academic environment would help increase student success. harley Ellis Devereaux was hired in 2008 to help develop the colleges vision for a facility that would meet the goals of the campus community. It was important to develop the vision and goals for the building at the very start of the project. Harley Ellis Devereaux conducted extensive surveys and workshops with staff, faculty, and students to define the goals for the Center and gain consensus among all campus groups. Three guiding design strategies were developed to meet the campus vision: visibility, flexibility, and access. One of the critical goals was to enhance student learning outcomes by designing an environment where students could be with their classmates outside the classroom and simply hang

Designing a facility that is prominent, visible, and uniquely student-focused was crucial. The building design needed to stand out among the other campus buildings in order for students to feel a special attachment and ownership. With the site occupying both the upper campus and the lower campus, the Center was the perfect opportunity to create a new gateway to the campus that the students could identify with and give them a true college experience. The circulation that connects the students from the lower campus to the upper campus is directed through the Center by a grand stair through the heart of the main open central space. This pedestrian street stitches together the student lounge, dining area, and the student services/support program and welcomes students to participate in all the activities offered.

lIghT aND aIry: The Center gives students spectacular views of the campus and its surrounding landscape

sylvia Wallis, ra, lEED aP,

designer with Harley Ellis Devereaux, describes the Center, The exteriors floor-to-ceiling glass invites students who are outside to see the activities going on inside. We placed the interior lounge furniture near the glass to put activities on display. By doing so, we created opportunities for serendipitous encounters by using seeing and being seen strategies to engage students in collaboration and dialogue.

So Many Choices

Many studies have shown that successful studentcentered learning environments allow the student to make individual choices to support multiple learning

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supported by research data, campus administration was convinced that improving the quality of their academic environment would

help increase student success.


Front and Center

styles. The environment must be flexible to support individual or group collaboration learning. This important goal is reflected in the building design in several ways. The furniture in the Center is movable and reconfigurable into a variety of arrangements, from a single student to a group of 20. There is also a combination of soft seating and tables in the student lounge and surrounding spaces. In addition to the furniture, technology also supports flexibility goals. Wireless technology is provided throughout the entire environment including the exterior portion of the building for internet access. And because learning is supported by visual display of information and by the ability to collaborate and engage in the process, group learning pods are also peppered throughout the building to allow small groups of students to work together at a single display screen.

Very early in the design process, it was determined that access to the student services/support programs was extremely important for improving student success. The campus administration supported the District Subcommittee response to the Districts 2005-2010 Strategic Initiatives which noted that increased student access was the number one goal. The response expanded the need: Our first priority is to increase human relationships and interactions with our students in order to facilitate increased student access. Norcos students needed to be made aware of the student ser vices/suppor t options

available to them in their pursuit of academic success. Previously, these functions were spread through the campus wherever space was available. Most students were not acquainted with the support system because they were tucked away and dispersed. The California State Chancellors Office describes the goal of student services is to ensure that all students have access to college courses needed to achieve the education objectives and the support to help them complete their goals. Wallis explains, The student ser vices/support programs were consolidated and moved into the Center. Using a retail concept sTaIrWay To succEss: Dr. Brenda Davis, retired Norco College design, the support programs President, on the grand staircase of the new are now along the Centers Center for Student Success main street and are clearly

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lEarNINg PoD: Students can work together in small group settings

laTE NIghTs: The Center accommodates students needing access late into the evening

visible to the students who pass by. Each program is a very open and inviting reminder to each student of the services which will help them in the pursuit of their academic success. The campus also recognized that the official hours of operation did not allow enough access for their student community to get together. The design challenge required student hang out spaces be available to students late into the evening, while the other traditional hours of operation spaces remained secure and closed. The challenge was addressed again with a borrowed retail approach which allows for support services spaces along the pedestrian street to be secured or opened independently of the main building.
Hang in There

must develop strategies to improve their results. The early development of a very clear vision guided the design of the Norco College Center for Student Success. Based simply on the overwhelming student use of the facility, it is a big success. As described by retired Norco College President, Dr. Brenda Davis, PhD, It is difficult to find an open seat in the Center. It is exactly what we wanted. Student engagement and campus support for academic pursuits are the key to student success and Norco College has provided a significant advantage to their students by creating the Center for Student Success.
Brent Miller is a principal with Harley Ellis Devereaux and the firms higher education practice leader.

Community college student success rates are becoming a focus of state and federal policies, and the colleges

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healthcare
and the design industry What dOes the Future hOld? by C. Richard Hall, FAIA, AHCA, LEED GA, EDAC

reform

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y a vote of 219 to 212, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Health Care Reform Bill. While it seems that everyone has an opinion about healthcare reform, the effects of the new legislation go far beyond personal insurance coverage reform.
Even before the new legislation passed, many in the design and construction industry were sent to the sidelines to watch as healthcare systems across the country applied the proverbial brakes in anticipation of what might be. It was an unexpected holding pattern that left everyone involved wondering how this was going to affect them. The possibilities for change are huge, yet the outcomes are speculative and the end results for the industry remain unclear. Adding to the situation was the recession that began in 2008 and brought a total collapse of capital lending, halting most design and construction in virtually every industry. The housing bubble was the first to pop, with retail, hospitality, and manufacturing closely following. These markets were over-built with too many facilities during a time of declining demand. However, when healthcare construction came to an abrupt stop, there was no change in demand. If anything, the demand for more technology, more space, and more beds increased, putting the healthcare industry in a very different position than other markets. The first ripple of healthcare reform is how hospitals are approaching their delivery of services. Some healthcare institutions believe that there is safety in numbers causing many smaller community and regional hospitals to merge while larger healthcare systems across the country are merging into bigger systems. This leaves the design and construction industry wondering about the bricks and mortar part of the equation.
Excellent Move

Is There a Doctor in the School?

many hospitals have lowered their capital spending because they do not know exactly how the pay mix between the government program and private pay program is going to affect their bottom line.

An increase in medical schools across the country is another factor potentially generating increased design services in the upcoming years. As the shortage of doctors becomes more acute, the country is realizing that it takes a long time for new medical staff to get through the educational pipeline. The addition of new medical schools provides for more academic medical centers as hospitals become affiliated with these schools of medicine. In time, they will morph into true academic medical centers. Architects will have a vital role in helping create these medical centers.
The Bottom Line

There is one great variable in all of this. As demand and utilization rises, there is great pressure on hospital systems for facilities to grow, reorganize, and reconnect. However, at this point in time, the issue is not if but when this is going to happen. Many hospitals have lowered their capital spending because they do not know exactly how the pay mix between the government program and private pay program is going to affect their bottom line. What this portends for healthcare architecture is the fact that once hospital administrators know how the financial situation is going to play out, they will then begin to feel more comfortable increasing spending for building projects. This may not happen until 2014 because the regulations enacted last year by the federal government do not come into play all at once. There is a transition from 2010 to 2014 for the impact of these rules and the funding that goes with them to be realized. At some point there should be enough sense of the market for hospitals and medical centers to chart a course to redevelop their facilities.
Mapping the Future

A silver lining to the current healthcare situation is the continued push by hospitals to form Centers of Excellence. These centers will change their business model by consolidating the services for which they are known. Most Centers of Excellence revolve around specialties such as cardiology, radiology, oncology, orthopedics, and the like. The demand for Centers for Excellence will give many hospitals the opportunity to reconfigure and redesign their spaces as they go through the process to provide the services that differentiate themselves from their competitors... a positive development for healthcare architects.

In the meantime, as with past recessions, healthcare institutions are working on their facility master plans. This gives facility managers a road map to follow when funds start to be released. As these master plans are completed, we are finding that cost analysis is being given greater weight than in the past. Facility managers want to know how much each of their facilities could expend per fiscal year, which will in turn drive the build-out time line of medical campuses.
Rick Hall is a principal with Harley Ellis Devereaux and the firms national healthcare studio leader.

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new directions in tHe emerging world of work


by James F. Meredith, LEED AP Workplace Strategies Harley Ellis Devereaux

weve made great strides in workplace design over tHe past decade, but sometHing is missing. more ping-pong tables? no. more lounge seating? no. better coffee? maybe...
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nformed by increasingly enlightened management practices, augmented by mobile technology, supported by new developments in furniture and equipment design, and facilitating the significantly different work styles and working relationships of a new generation, the workspace is becoming more relevant to the emerging world of work. As complexity and layers of facility standards were reduced, the workplace became more open, and the social nature of work advanced from the cafes and foosball tables of the dot.com model to more sophisticated understanding of the informal networks that are essential for good team work. The best-in-class office now exhibits a significant shift of resources toward team work from the hierarchical management model of a generation before. Despite these advances many of us are yearning for more.
Time Is On Our Side

value in the nature and quality of our experiences. And as our time working in and out of conventional office environments becomes more fragmented, and the management of the relationships, networks, and information becomes more complex, we now seek a relationship with place that augments our identity, our image, and our effectiveness. Time has become more precious. It is no longer important how much time we put in at the office, but how effective the time is that we do spend there. What makes that time more valuable are the experiences we have while we are there.
Back In The Day

Times They Are a-Changin

The emerging world of work demands a radically different approach to workspace planning and design. There has been a significant body of research done in recent years to understand the information age, knowledge work, and the characteristics of the knowledge worker. Similarly, the radical shift in characteristics of the first generation emerging from the information age has shaped new ways of thinking about what work is, what it looks like, and the influence their work styles may have on everyone else. Here are just a few of the projected characteristics of the emerging world of work: An individuals social networks and their ability to capitalize on them mean that companies will hire those with higher reputation capital Increasing developments in mobile technology change everything about work, both where and how it is done The increasing importance of teaming, the power of social networks, and the potentials in communications technology enable the formation of work swarms connecting individuals to form teams quickly A generation immersed in gaming may use some of its organizational principles, like the formation of guilds, to form high performing teams, leading companies to hire not individuals but entire teams Successful individuals will have a different mind-set characterized by global thinking and cross-cultural power, social participation, openness to continuous learning, and speedy movement on identified opportunities The continuing merging of work and life will be accepted as a new normal, and the value of flexibility will replace the values of separation or balance Non-routine skills become more important, work becomes more informal and spontaneous, and skills in charrettes or sketch-ups become increasingly valuable What is significant about these projections is the importance of time, a focus on purpose, the value of flexibility, the accommodation of the non-routine, the power in new but temporary operational forms, and the rising influence of externally-connected individuals and teams over internally-managed organizations. We are at a point where neither the centrallyprovided and regulated workplace of the past nor the anonymous and commercial third place workplace of the mobile worker satisfies. What guides our thinking for the next workplace?
Shifting Gears

Not long ago, the high performance workplace was the goal to be reached through new approaches to office design. But over the past decade, a key measure of workplace performance became the cost of its real estate. The less space dedicated per person meant increased financial performance. This unintended performance metric was one with diminishing returns. Not only was there a finite limit to the amount and cost of space that could be cut, but signs emerged showing a reduction in the creative and productive output of organizations. As long as the workplace was measured as real estate, it was perceived as a cost, rather than as supporting groups of people working together. Another significant issue is the experience of working. As space decreased, so did interactions, the engine of innovation and engagement. The office went from a place where people came to work together to a place where nobody wanted to work.

A key factor in our discontent may be the quality of the environments in which we work. As information, context, and opportunity grab more of our attention and time, we have come to place more

it is no longer important how much time we put in at the office, but

how effective the time is that we do spend there.

As the value of knowledge has shifted from that which we hold unto ourselves to that which we share with others, we can see the power and potential in tacit knowledge.

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Organizational evolution and development takes place through a continuous interchange between two forms of knowledge. Explicit knowledge is formally codified and transferred, and is transmitted in easily accessible forms such as words, numbers, and formulas. Tacit knowledge is expressed in more than words and frequently without words, and involves both cognitive and technical skills beliefs, images, intuition, craft, know-how. Tacit knowledge is difficult to develop and uncover, yet it is the most valuable form of knowledge for the evolution of organizations. In an economy in which explicit knowledge is more easily and rapidly transferred, it carries the threat of diminishing value. Tacit knowledge, however, carries increasing value in todays economy. Tacit knowledge is best transferred between individuals through socialization. It is becoming clear that the surviving and thriving organizations of the future will be the ones who can uncover, access, augment, and accelerate the flows of knowledge.
Taking Aim

Platforms & Pathways

and John seely Brown are leaders of the Deloitte center for the Edge and their most recent book, The Power of Pull, addresses technology innovation. Many of its principles are relevant to the role of the workspace.
John hagel

Hagel calls the power of pull the ability to draw out people and resources as needed to address opportunities and challenges...unleashing forces of attraction, influence, and serendipity. This drawing out means moving from the measurement of the performance of place and people, a diminishing return, to the potential of people supported by the right kinds of spaces, an increasing return. A key tool in capturing this potential is experiential design. Hagel defines two environments to consider for the value of the experiences they host platforms and pathways. Platforms are teaming environments designed to attract and support diverse providers and users of resources. They are the foundations that provide the experiences that enable teams to be effective, to spawn new teams, and to create and capitalize on connections between them. Pathways are the channels through which people participate in and contribute to flows of knowledge. Pathways include the networks we communicate with and through, and the relationships with people and resources where we find the information and experiences that enable us to learn, grow, develop, and evolve. Lets imagine the look-and-feel of a workspace designed as a pull platform: It has a plug-and-play nature designed for the convenience of its users, rather than its providers It is flexible, able to respond to otherwise unanticipated needs of its users and participants It is dynamic and adaptable, with features that allow it to support and capture increasing returns It is evolutionary and its value is enhanced by the improvisation, experimentation, and improvements generated by its users It is a rich environment, providing intrinsic rewards to its users who are committed to its use and contribute to its value This concept is the next focus for leading workplaces. Planning in this way can increase interactions to uncover individual potential and drive organizational learning and improvement. New discussions around the experience of work and how to generate tangible value from the workplace are

Unleashing the power of tacit knowledge changes from the attractiveness of place to the attraction of great experiences. Experiential design in the workplace moves us from a closed, process-oriented workplace to a more open collaborative place of creativity and innovation.

it is shocking that everything about work has changed, but very little of the workplace has.
This initial focus on the social was aimed inaccurately. While supporting the kind of interaction that contributes to cultural development, this first wave of workplace innovation brought socializing spaces the Starbucks model into the workplace. However, it missed the more powerful purpose of socialization: to move tacit knowledge through an organization. The innovators of workplace design focused on the thing rather the purpose. After a decade of embedding social spaces in organizations, we are beginning to understand what the term socialization really means. We have learned that increasing the value of the experience means moving the organization from measuring the performance of place to measuring the potential of people. It means moving from you measuring them to them measuring you; moving from measuring things to measuring interactions. This is why it is time for a new shift in what weve called experiential design.

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needed. Design professionals should help companies see that workplace strategy is no longer about real estate but is instead about generating new business opportunity.
Out With the Old

It is shocking that everything about work has changed, but very little of the workplace has. Old institutions are dying and we are now at the front edge of a great social revolution. The technologies we use, the global ecosystem we share with others, and the ethos that informs our behaviors all influence the seismic shift in ways that work is done. New organizational and operational forms are emerging in response, and what we called work is now different in all of its dimensions. Leading organizations will have a highly motivated, innovative, and focused workforce who uncovers the most effective places for them to achieve, learn, build networks, find opportunities, and build businesses. These organizations will be the ones who get the experiences of working. They will understand that the emerging metric of performance, leadership, and success is the growth in peoples potential which is supported by environments that provide the experiences people seek. These organizations will be the ones who will discover whats missing.
Jim Meredith is Harley Ellis Devereauxs workplace strategies expert.

greener pastures
greenpatH debt solutions new corporate HQ: tHe bridge to a new way of working
the potentials of the platforms and pathways concept. GreenPath is a non-profit organization that provides financial advisory services including debt counseling, debt management, and financial education to consumers in matters of credit card, housing, and bankruptcy concerns. Their new headquarters will be the home of up to 650 people in diverse teams and environments, including its national data center and central call center. The building is composed of two large, loft-like spaces set at angles to each other, and connected by a central wedge-shaped bridge. The two open areas, the platforms, house the team environments. These are highly flexible and adaptable work platforms and teaming environment for diverse functions, work modes, work styles, team scales, and individual and collaborative work areas. They provide: Diverse and alternative work mode settings Light, agile, and adaptable work stations Self-organizing team clusters Personally adjustable, individual comfort controls An open, accessible perimeter Numerous get-up and get-away settings High-volume spaces with more than 300 degrees of natural light The bridge is, essentially, a deconstructed core. Rather than act as a separator, as service cores do in most office buildings, this triangular space provides the pathways, that connect the teams to each other, to advisors, to their national network, to customers and clients, and to spaces that support their continuous learning, growth, and development. They are augmented, amplified, and activated spaces to accelerate individual and organizational development. They provide spaces and place that support: Movement, accessibility, visibility of individuals and teams Socialization and community support Monitoring, development, and learning support Opportunity identification Idea generation and development Mid-term and long-term tasking and project development Health and fitness Nurture, refresh, and reframe activities Internal and external network connections and communication The new headquarters for GreenPath Inc. offers some insight into

PlaTforms & PaThWays: Flexible, self-sustaining teaming platforms network inside and outside via real and virtual pathways

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IT TAkES A

VILLAGE An UrBAn VILLAGE


tHe new david saperstein middle scHool was designed for tHe uniQue needs of its students
by John R. Dale, FAIA, LEED AP Workplace Strategies Harley Ellis Devereaux
needs of middle school students in mind. A school environment that says its okay to be in the middle.
The Middle Ground

spaces, and provide opportunities for collaboration, partnering, and discovery. It is obvious from the first point of arrival at the circular entry plaza that this is not a typical middle school. The stepping forms and varied textures recall a hill town rather than a school. The leadership of Stephen Wise Temple knew that, given the challenging site, they would not be able to compete with near by independent schools on the basis of conventional classrooms and athletic fields. Rather, the focus was on the creation of a truly unique sense of place with an emphasis on quality, intimacy, and inspiration. The interconnected chain of plazas, loggias, and terraces becomes the common space that forms the main street of this urban village. Every classroom, assembly room, and support space have a front door

eing in middle school is like being well in the middle. And the transition from elementary to middle school is tough. The building is so big and so unfamiliar you can get lost. There are classes in different rooms with different teachers, all of whom give homework. New faces fill the halls. And then there are the endless rows of lockers. Will I remember where mine is, let alone the combination? Will I ever fit in here? Many fears of middle schools students are eased in an environment that is safe, nurturing, and healthy. The stephen Wise Temples new David Saperstein Middle School was designed with the specific educational

The schools motto of developing students with sharp minds, generous hearts, and kind souls is expressed in a variety of ways throughout the school. Built around the urban village model, Saperstein Middle School simultaneously stimulates and nurtures students at this most critical point in the intellectual development. School, states, Our claim on students is that, eventually, they express their understanding, desire, and commitment to being part of a larger community a larger global Jewish community. Thus the urban middle school village must be intimate, comfortable, have personalized learning
Jason l. ablin, Head of

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our new beautiful, state-of-the-art facility, built with such love by our community, needs to be a place where students feel safe and nurtured, challenged, and supported during these less than calm times in their lives.
Jason L. Ablin Head of School, Stephen Wise Temple David Saperstein Middle School

and window bays on the street, providing a strong connection between indoor and outdoor learning spaces and, most importantly, a natural place for social interaction and small group learning. While individual lockers are provided under overhead canopies, the casually scattered backpacks attest to a sense of security and being at home. The inspirational Hebrew and English sayings, etched into the walls along the walkways, add a sense of sacred purpose to the village feel. The education program accommodates 240 students and includes eleven 750-square-foot classrooms, a technology/media lab, art center, student cafeteria, and a Beit Midrash, a circular room nestled among the classrooms. Technology is everywhere. Smart board technology and plasma screens within the classrooms and multi-purpose spaces throughout the

campus connect students through video conferencing to parallel classrooms in Israel to provide distancelearning experiences.
Versatile Spaces

Meet Me in the Middle

Because of the highly compact and challenging site, every space in the urban village must take on multiple roles. A multi-purpose room can be used for lectures, dining, or special events. With a wall of folding glass doors, activities here can easily to spill outside into the adjacent crescent-shaped courtyard. The amphitheater doubles as a basketball and tennis court and its 35 foot retaining wall has been equipped as a professional grade climbing wall. The Beit Midrash houses the schools Ark of the Covenant and sacred texts. It includes a sweeping mosaic conceived of and executed by the entire community. It is also equipped for multi-media presentations for assemblies and team teaching.

Ablin concludes, Learning for a middle school student is as much a social/emotional event as it is an intellectual one. For this reason, the David Saperstein Middle School has been conceived as an urban village, providing both a secure home and a stimulating launching pad for the life journey of an exceptional group of middle school students. A place that makes it easy to be in the middle.
John Dale is a principal with Harley Ellis Devereaux and the firms K12 schools studio leader.

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How tHe automotive industry is leading tHe way in green manufacturing facilities
by R. Craig Rutherford, FCPSM Business Development Harley Ellis Devereaux

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onsumer demand for fuel efficient and eco-friendly vehicles has caused auto makers to rethink the manufacturing processes and factories of the past. The days of high-powered engines, tail fins, lots of chrome-plated trim, and smoky tailpipes have long passed. Also missing are the scores of urban manufacturing plants tinted in grays and blacks from years of smokestack residue, dimly lit assembly buildings and stamping plants with oil-soaked floors, and in-plant environments characterized by inadequate ventilation. Then there was the noise: the cadence of heavy pounding from rows of stamping presses, the screech of metal cutting equipment, and the drone of process machinery. And all the while there is the clanking and clinking as monorail conveyors pass closely overhead.

The days of highpowered engines, tail fins, lots of chromeplated trim, and smoky tailpipes are

long passed.

Fortunately, those kinds of images are becoming a thing of the past as automotive companies work to optimize the value of each facility investment dollar and create sustainable manufacturing environments. chrysler corporations new South Engine Plant in Trenton, Michigan is a clear indication of the automotive industrys new direction, and it is being done on a grand scale. In a very short period of time, Chryslers Trenton facility has become an important showcase for manufacturing innovation, building technology, and sustainable design strategies. This change in automotive industry will have a positive and long-lasting impact on the environment.
Someone Has To Be First

Clearly, automotive manufacturers are investing heavily in modern new facilities. They are doing as much to build green factories as they are to produce green cars. Chryslers Trenton South was designed for both efficient manufacturing and minimal environmental impact. It was built on a brownfield site and designed to embrace the highest environmental standards. The facility produces new fuelefficient V6 automobile engines. The new 830,000-square-foot Chrysler facility marks the first-time-ever that a large-scale manufacturing facility, including production processes and manufacturing equipment, has earned the LEED Gold Certification (Leadership in En-

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lIvINg Proof: Ford Motor Company was one of the first to use a green roof on one of their manufacturing facilities at the Rouge Complex

ergy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council. Here are just a few of the many ways the project accomplished environmental and energy objectives:

Reduced CO2 emissions by more than 12,000

metric tons per year the equivalent to the energy use of nearly 1000 homes Lowered total energy use by 39%, resulting in a savings of $1.25 million per year Total water reduction was 1.5 million gallons per year when compared to previous manufacturing facilities the equivalent to the volume found in 68 average-sized swimming pools Minimized heat-island effect on surrounding environment by incorporating native grasses and trees Employed a cool white roof and light-colored hardscape materials throughout the facility

Designed jointly by BEI associates (architect of record) and harley Ellis Devereaux, the large-scale industrial facility clearly demonstrates that it is possible to economically build and operate a totally sustainable manufacturing plant.
Thats Impressive

Manufacturings Green Factory Initiatives are among the most impressive in the industry. The Japanese automaker has eight Zero Waste to Landfill plants in North America. Honda actively encourages suppliers to reduce packaging waste, adopt more energy efficient processes, and obtain third-party ISO 14001 certification. Other noteworthy actions include:
honda of america

Installation of intelligent paint booths, which

reduce natural gas consumption and related CO2 emissions by 25% Use of U.S. steel, which contains a minimum of 25% and, in some instances, as much 90% recycled content

lation that moves cool air from rooftop-mounted turer occurred last year with the completion of one air handlers to large, floor-level grills, where it of the largest solar power generator systems in the Midwest. A 500-kilowatt photovoltaic panel system displaces heat from the human body was added to the Wayne, Michigan Assembly Plant, along with a 750-kw energy storage facility with the A Manufacturing Plant With A Backyard? The subaru of Indiana Automotive Plant near Lafay- capacity to store two million watt-hours of energy. ette, Indiana has taken the reduce, reuse, recycle That number is approximately equivalent to the powmantra one step further by recycling 99 percent of er necessary to run 100 homes annually. waste from the plant and transforming the remaining one percent into electricity. Its recycling on a large The solar research installation will help Ford advance scale, and its clearly outside the norm. In one in- the knowledge base of smart grid technology and the stance, the company salvaged and reused scrap mate- development of electric-powered vehicles, such as rials from nearly 11,000 tons of steel that would have the large SUVs presently produced at the Wayne Astypically been hauled to a junk yard. It has also been sembly facility. estimated that by recycling 1,000 tons of wooden pallets, the Japanese-based auto company has saved from Sustainability Is Substantial harvesting more than 31,000 mature trees. Moreover, Fortunately, domestic and foreign automotive manuthe Subaru facility may be the only factory in the U.S. facturers were early to recognize the importance of that recycles leftover food from the cafeteria to fertil- sustainable design and the benefit of incorporating ize plants on the campus that in-turn help generate eco-friendly strategies in the planning and design new building electricity. buildings. The savings in corporate dollars has been substantial, in terms of initial construction costs, as Visitors to the Subaru campus are greeted by a natu- well as daily operating expenses. However, the longral habitat that supports wildlife, such as deer, coy- term benefit to the environment and savings in natuotes, beavers, and blue herons. The 832-acre indus- ral resources is much more important. trial campus is characterized by lush grass, ponds and heavily wooded areas and is designated as a Backyard In recent months, several food, beverage, and pharWildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. maceutical companies have announced plans to build new production facilities that will incorporate various sustainable strategies. Many of those green strategies More Power There is no question that ford motor company was were first showcased in todays modern automotive one of the early champions of the sustainable de- manufacturing plant. sign movement. Fords 3,000,000-square-foot Rouge Manufacturing Complex in Dearborn, Michigan was Craig Rutherford is a business development representative with among the first industrial buildings (as early as 2002) Harley Ellis Devereaux. to receive a living roof of natural sedum grass. The adjacent Ford Rouge Visitor Center also incorporated many sustainable innovations, including a photovoltaic array for electrical power. The LEED-Gold Certified educational-type building was on the boards at Harley Ellis Devereaux in 2001.

Provision of high-efficiency displacement venti- Another first for the Dearborn-based auto manufac-

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grEEN shoWcasE: Chryslers new engine plant is an important showcase for manufacturing innovation, building technology, and sustainable design strategies

oN ThE lINE: Chryslers new South Engine Plant is the first large-scale manufacturing facility to achieve LEED Gold Certification, including production processes and manufacturing equipment

the chrysler south engine plant is leed-gold rated and is certain to have an impact on the design of future manufacturing plants, not only in the automotive sector, but in other industries as well. the result will become more pronounced as manufacturing companies strive to maximize the value of short and long-term facility investments, particularly

as the value of the energy dollar shrinks."


Richard L. Torri, AIA, LEED AG, Principal Science and Technology Studio Leader Harley Ellis Devereaux

nEXT Fall 2011 | 19

DATA
DILEMMA
8 reasons wHy data center engineering needs to cHange
by Michael F. Cooper, PE, LEED AP Managing Principal Harley Ellis Devereaux
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gloBal NETWork: Harley Ellis Devereauxs expertise in data centers grew by working with global organizations to advance their businesses through effective data management

usiness often succeeds or fails based on the ability to effectively manage data. How can we integrate available information into the immediate decision-making process so that we make more informed decisions? Current data management challenges include globalization of technology resources, compartmentalization of information for security purposes, and exponentially increasing power and cooling demands.

there are only a small handful of states that dont charge personal property tax on servers and they have the upper hand in attracting data center business.
Jim Kerrigan Executive Vice President Director of the National Data Center Group Grubb and Ellis Company

Think about where we go for information, notes Jim kerrigan, Executive Vice President and Director of the National Data center group at grubb and Ellis company. We are much more likely to get our information from the web or social media than from TV or newspapers. Data is driving every aspect of our lives. The data center engineering community has labored to design facilities that keep up with technology and its demands. Today, we are at a crossroads. We need to think differently about these critical facilities if we are to effectively support the next generation of business. Heres why:
1. You Cant Afford A Few Hours rest

2. Clouds need Walls power supply and cooling. A data center rally cooler climate offers more Cloud computing and co-loca- site in a natufree cooling. A site with an availtion of resources are the cur- opportunity for rent data center buzzwords. As able, natural water source would again provide opportunity to utilize the waorganizations struggle internal- ter in lieu of mechanical refrigeration. A site with greater renewable energy ly to keep up with their grow- potential (wind, solar, geothermal) allows for reduced dependence on the ing data management demands, local power grid. Municipal incentives are often available for high demand facilities, which can help fund the capital development. they are looking to the outside for help. Larger, multi-tenant data centers provide businesses with highly 6. Systems Must Adapt At The Speed Of Business flexible information technology services, The typical building is designed and constructed to last decades, customized for individual requirements. usually 20 years or longer. In stark contrast, information technolAnytime there is co-location of digi- ogy equipment will serve you two to four years, if you are lucky. tal information, walls are required. Fre- This is made more challenging by technology rack density which quently, dedicated hardware is physically has increased from 1-4 kW per rack (2005) to 15-25 kW (2010), separated. Software and storage is often and is anticipated to reach 60-80 kW per rack in 2012. separated with digital walls providing security not unlike that which protects our 7. The Shortest Distance Between Two Points Is not A business networks from Internet hackers. Straight Line A traditional plan-design-construct process to provide a new data center can take two years or more to complete. Todays business 3. A Cool Breeze Cant kill The Heat Traditional perforated, raised floor cool- climate just does not allow for this much time. The linear design ing systems are effective for standard approach must be set aside in favor of a collaborative, integrated density technology racks (up to 10 kW). process. The design, construction and validation phases of a projThey may not be as effective, however, ect must occur simultaneously. This not only takes two years down for the types of high density racks that to one year or less, but it better integrates the team members for are more commonplace today. The heat a higher quality facility. produced by this equipment may require a virtual wind tunnel for proper cooling. 8. Get Comfortable Being In The Dark In-row or in-rack coolers provide localized, Data centers were once populated facilities with 24/7 high capacity cooling right at the rack. With this activity. Now, more often than not, they are dark, system, heat is removed at the source before being meaning completely unoccupied. Reliability is driven released to the data center space itself. The proper by technology that monitors and controls building climatic environment is attained by addressing heat at systems, and alerts appropriate personnel of incithe rack, the most efficient way to do so. dents requiring immediate attention. 4. negligible Losses Are Too Costly

Data center reliability is often articulated in terms of available uptime. The uptime Institute provides an industry standard classification system that ranges from basic level (Tier 1) to fault tolerant (Tier 4). All data center levels enjoy available uptime of 99.6 percent or bet5. Site Selection Drives Everything Else ter. The difference between a Tier 1 and Tier 4 data center is The selection of your site sets the tone for slightly more than 28 hours per year. While this does not sound system and energy performance. U.S. data like much, it is not unusual for large institutions to value each centers consume more than 62 billion hour of data center downtime at $1 million or more. There is a kWh of electricity annually, at a cost cost to improving your available uptime, but the cost of not doing of more than $4.5 billion. The majorit can sometimes be even larger. ity of this cost addresses equipment

Building power distribution systems are almost always designed as alternating current (AC). Technology equipment, on the other hand, usually requires a direct current (DC) power supply. The traditional approach to converting the building AC power to DC results in power losses that tax the system and create electrical noise that can be harmful to the equipment. These losses were often deemed negligible. As power demands increase, so too do these losses and the cost of accepting them as necessary.

Electronic data has changed everything in our personal and professional lives. The building design process, once dominated by blueprints and large scale drawings, now delivers three-dimensional computer models that permit us to walk through a building before the first shovel is ever put into the ground. Whats next? While there is no crystal ball, its a good bet that many of the advancements to come will be on the backs of technology and data management. They will drive our private lives and businesses to heights we previously could have only imagined.
Mike Cooper is managing principal of Harley Ellis Devereauxs Detroit office and the firms engineering leader.

nEXT Fall 2011 | 21

NEXT: viewpoint
TaNIa vaN hErlE, aIa
maNagINg PrINcIPal harlEy EllIs DEvErEauX | los aNgElEs
Life is all about choices. The choices we are willing to make, the choices we have to make, and then there are the ones that ultimately define who we really are. It is these choices that some of us seem to let life determine for us, while others choose with conviction. It is these individuals who are defined by the extraordinary things they accomplish through a variety of challenges, all while keeping focused on the countless opportunities for passionate leadership. As a first generation American, born of emigrated parents from Belgium and raised in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, HEDs new Managing Principal Tania Van Herles sense of enthusiasm is overwhelmingly contagious and often with the exclamation, thats fantastic! As the photographer prepares for the shoot, Van Herle beams appropriately. Her sophisticated elegant presence is commanding, as if she was a part of a Burberry campaign photo shoot. But the truth is that there is so much more to who she really is. An accomplished award-winning architect and structural engineer, with Master Degrees in each, and an Executive Board Member of HED, Van Herle is a force to be reckoned with. Beginning her 20 year climb up the design ladder, her dedication to the design profession has enabled Van Herle to stay true to what she believes in. Whats important to me is being different, unique, focused, and truly living the notion that design matters, but always remembering the values that were instilled in me by my family, she reflects. Her expression becomes much more intense as she continues to describe the beliefs that define who she is. Its really simple. Give back, make a difference in the communities where we work, collaborate, and innovate and mean it. Our work, what we stand for, our people, the essence of who we are, has an impact on the places we create. It is our responsibility to continue to build our firm by providing innovative and fully integrated design solutions with a profound environmental responsibility that enhances the business of our clients. We believe in the power of great design, its our only choice.

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Project Team Credits:


Norco college, riverside community college District Project: New Center for Student Success Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux Contractor: ProWest Constructors Civil Engineer: Armstrong & Brooks Consulting Engineers Structural Engineer: Saiful | Bouquet, Inc. MEP Engineer: Harley Ellis Devereaux Landscape Architect: Wilson Associates Food Service Consultant: Webb Design greenPath Debt solutions Project: New Corporate Headquarters Architect/Engineer: Harley Ellis Devereaux Contractor: Walbridge-Ronnisch, Joint Venture Security Consultant: ESS Consulting Landscape Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux Irrigation Consultant: Graber Associates stephen Wise Temple Project: David Saperstein Middle School Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux Contractor: Bernards Civil Engineer: S.E.C. Civil Engineering, Inc. Structural Engineer: Ismail & Associates Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: Harley Ellis Devereux Landscape Architect: LRM Ltd. chrysler corporation Project: New Trenton Phoenix Engine Plant Architect of Record: BEI Associates Associate Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux Contractor: Walbridge Structural Engineering: Gala & Associates ford motor company Client: Ford Motor Company Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux Engineer: Harley Ellis Devereaux Architectural and Sustainable Design Concepts: William McDonough + Partners Exhibit Design: BRC Imagination Arts Contractor: Walbridge

Photography Credits:
Cover: RMA Architectural Photography p 1: Raffi Alexander, Spiderbox Photography p 2-3: RMA Architectural Photography p 4-5: Dr. Davis, Raffi Alexander, Spiderbox Photography; Norco College, RMA Architectural Photography p 6: Harley Ellis Devereaux p 8: Getty Images p 11: Harley Ellis Devereaux p 12-13: RMA Architectural Photography p 14-15: Flickr, Tom Gidden p 16-17: Ford Visitor Center, Justin Machonochie Photography; Chrysler Phoenix Engine Plant, Steve Maylone, Maylone Photography p 18: Morgue File p 19: Justin Machonochie Photography p 20: Raffi Alexander, Spiderbox Photography

Advancing Your World...by Design

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