Robertson Construction - Case Study: Energy Institute

CASE STUDY

THE HOCKING COLLEGE ENERGY INSTITUTE

C O N S T R U C T I O N

THE HOCKING COLLEGE ENERGY INSTITUTE

Amid an idyllic, pastoral scene of grain silos, a barn and a field of sunflowers, the shimmering building comes into view – angular and modern with corrugated steel siding, bordered by native grasses and wetlands, a green vegetated roof and a whirling wind generator jutting up into a blue sky.

It’s the last thing one expects to see in this undulating landscape of rolling hills in rural Southeastern Ohio. Yet for residents of Hocking County and the 125 students attending this innovative educational institute, the building represents more than cutting-edge, green design. It is a path to a vibrant future, an on-ramp to the green economy.

in Nelsonville with just three students studying advanced energy and fuel cells. In 2004, the vehicular hybrid program was added, followed by a plug-in program and additional training programs in wind and solar. Enrollment continues to grow and reached 125 for the 2009-10 academic year.

“The building itself is not just your average building, it’s a working lab.

There is a tremendous amount of technology around the students as they train,” said Jerry Hutton, dean of the Hocking College Energy Institute.

“I see this building as a real stake-inthe-ground for this community and this region to show that we can bring back the manufacturing sector and higher-paying jobs.”

“The whole building is alive with the actual technology,” said Dr. Roy Palmer, senior vice president of Hocking College, who has worked in technical education since 1967. “The building represents Hocking College coming into this technology in a tangible way. We’ve had these classes in old surroundings that were updated minimally, but this new site is built for this technology and with it. The building demonstrates it.”

Hutton launched the program in 2002 on Hocking College’s main campus

The Energy Institute is working to provide the next generation of skilled

workers for some of Ohio’s most promising green companies, including Third Sun, Dovetail Solar and Wind, Sun Power and Global Cooling.

For example, two students from the program worked as interns at Third Sun Solar & Wind Power, which provides consulting, design, and installation of solar powered energy systems for commercial and residential customers. The company has even hired one graduate. With 21 employees and $3.7 million in sales, Inc. Magazine recently ranked Third Sun as the 32nd fastest growing energy company in the U.S. “The Institute is raising the profile of these career opportunities,” said Michelle Greenfield, co-owner and chief executive officer of Third Sun. “It brings a broader awareness and helps mainstream the technology.”

VEGETATED ROOF DAYLIGHT HARVESTING

NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTATION

The Power of Design “Make it look weird,” is how Jerry Hutton, dean of the Hocking College Energy Institute, distilled down his design vision to architect Jack Hedge of the DesignGroup. “I knew it had to be a working lab. I didn’t want some building that looked like the Taj Mahal.”

Indeed. The Energy Institute is no Taj Mahal, but at 12,000 square feet, it represents the future of green building and the latest trends in learning environments. And, it will be the first higher education building in Ohio to earn Leadership in Energy and Envi-

ronmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

In the design, the function of the building was considered down to the very last detail. For example, because classrooms will often require access to large industrial equipment, the front door of the building is large enough to drive a Prius through.

Additionally, there’s very little carpet; a sealed concrete floor cuts down on the cost of materials and long-term maintenance. It is illustrative of the

mantra of green building: Less material equals less waste.

Aesthetically, the result is brilliant. Hip, with an industrial, clutter-free feel.

Even before construction finished, the awards started coming. Real Estate & Construction Review named it one of the best new green projects in the Midwest. Yet, despite the accolades, the Energy Institute is an example of design with sensitivity to cost.

“It was done on a shoestring budget,” said Keoni Fleming, LEED AP, project architect at DesignGroup.

SOLAR THERMAL UNIT

BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS HIGH-ALBEDO ROOF

PLUG-IN HYBRID CHARGING STATIONS

And a challenging one to put together, especially in a time of plunging endowments, rising tuition and state budget cuts. Not the best time to make a case for sustainable design. But at $200 per square foot, it matches the average cost for an academic building.

“Up and running, it will cost half as much to operate as a normal building. In fact, saving $10,000 a year in energy costs,” said Fleming.

It was a budget pieced together with a little bit of luck and good timing. And

along the way, as new grants came in, changes to the design were inevitable.

Robertson Construction and project manager Scott Siegel approached those changes as opportunities, retaining a collaborative attitude toward the entire process. “We wanted to do everything we could to make this innovative project happen,” Siegel said.

That dedication didn’t go unnoticed.

“We found some extra grant money along the way and made additions to the project – including a wind turbine, a natural gas filling station and plug-in recharging stations in the parking lot,”

said Hutton. “If Robertson had given me heartburn over these changes, it would have been very difficult to get this completed. But they took it in stride and stayed focused on getting the job done on time and on budget.”

Hutton added, “Robertson has been very good to work with and flexible too. We sat and talked, collaborated and managed those changes - back and forth. And along the way, when other changes came up, they just took care of them, no questions asked.”

An On-ramp to the Green Economy When politicians talk about greening the economy, turning blue-collar jobs into green ones, revitalizing the slumping manufacturing sector, it’s places like Hocking County where that message resonates with a particular fervor.

After all, it is here where 20.9% of families with children live below the poverty level. A place where the median household income is $40,855, compared to $50,233 nationally, a gap that shows no signs of closing.

In Hocking County, growth in low-paying retail jobs outpaces that of higher paying manufacturing jobs by a significant margin. The need to revive the local economy and create new jobs is critical. The Hocking College Energy Institute in Logan has embraced the challenge to change those seemingly intractable economic realities.

As President Barack Obama put it, on a visit here during his presidential campaign: “This college is just outstanding in preparing young people to work in green-collar jobs, which are the jobs of the future.”

Founded in 1968, the two-year technical college is based in Athens County in Nelsonville and boasts about 5,200 students. It has long espoused a “real world” learning approach, a principle central to everything Hocking College does and one being pushed to meet future labor needs at the Energy Institute.

“Our average student does not have the skill set coming out of high school that I had growing up on a farm. They don’t really know how to work with their hands. They know how to text and work with a computer, but not how to run a wire in an electronic system,” said Hutton.

“At the Energy Institute, we are training this new workforce of skilled craftsmen that will have the technical knowledge we need to usher in a new era of green energy technology.”

This focus reflects the aspirations and mission of the institution to play a central role in reviving the local economy.

If, as some experts predict, the alternative energy sector grows significantly in the next decade, who will be the

technicians? Who will install the solar panels on the rooftops of homes and buildings, dig the geothermal wells, troubleshoot problems when the Prius quits humming like it should?

The answer begins with the 125 students that started classes at the Energy Institute in Fall 2009. It’s a fitting locale, considering that the Southeastern Ohio region has a long history as an energy resource, not only for residents and companies of the state, but for the entire Midwest.

“Coal, oil, natural gas and timber, all can be found in the region,” said Dr. Palmer. “From the late 1800s clear up to today, Hocking County has attracted power companies making investments and that’s not going to go away.”

Dr. Palmer added, “If this area is the source of much of this energy, improving the efficiency and environmental impact is really vital. We are adding fuel cells, solar power and wind power to what is coming out of traditional fossil fuels, making Hocking County the gateway where all that meets.”

THE HOCKING COLLEGE ENERGY INSTITUTE

CUSTOMER PROFILE

PROJECT PROFILE

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

ARCHITECT AND DESIGN

A public, open access technical college with a focus on training associate degree graduates, Hocking College is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges. With a $1.6 million grant from the Economic Development Administration, and grants totaling $362,500 from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the College expanded its programs in technical training, creating hands-on learning labs in alternative energy, fuel cells, and hybrid vehicles for students at the Energy Institute.

The Hocking College Energy Institute, a 12,200 square foot, $3.2 million project will be the first higher education building in Ohio to earn LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC. An alternative energy laboratory located in Hocking County Ohio, the building is heated and cooled by 26 geothermal wells and includes a fuel cell, natural gas compressor and refueling station, vegetative roof, 21kw photovoltaic array, plug-in vehicular recharge stations and a wind generator.

Robertson Construction helps institutions in higher education meet the changing needs of their students. From libraries to student centers, academic buildings to athletic ones, Robertson’s team of project managers delivers high-level, cost-conscious construction services­on time and on budget. In addition to Hocking College, Robertson has collaborated with other institutions of higher education including The Ohio State University, Ohio University and Franklin University. Visit www.robertsonconstruction.net.

DesignGroup, founded in 1972, provides services in architecture, interior design, planning and programming, graphics, sustainable design and LEED Program management for clients in the higher education, library, civic, workplace and health care markets. As leaders in the development of the built environment, DesignGroup creates compelling and sophisticated designs enhanced with strong process leadership and solid project management. For more information, visit www. designgroup.us.com.