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Client: Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Ariz.
Challenge: Providing for daylight to penetrate deep within each floor of a multi-floor building.
Results: Ability to direct daylight into the centers or the second and third floors of the building. LEED Platinum achieved.
Product: SolaMaster Series 330 and 750 DS-C
Solatube Distributor/Installer: Norcon Industries Inc.
Architect: Weddle Gilmore Black Rock Studio
BACKGROUND: The 74,843-square-foot Student Pavilion is situated at the nexus of student activity on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University (ASU). The building, which was designed to be a Net Zero Energy building, delivers green qualities, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and zero waste, to showcase the university’s goals for Climate Net Neutrality and sustainable building systems.
CHALLENGE: One of the most significant challenges encountered with this project was how to deliver natural daylight to the collaboration corridors on both the second and third floors of the building. With the third-level corridor positioned directly above the second level, traditional skylights were not a viable option. The design team needed a flexible approach that could travel approximately 35 feet in distance and includes three 90-degree bends.
SOLUTION: In order to properly daylight the 21,000-square-foot space on each level and meet design goals, Weddle Gilmore Black Rock Studio utilized the Solatube SolaMaster Series 330 and 750 DS-C units.
To ensure a consistent amount of daylight, the design team used Solatube’s proprietary design calculator to determine the number of units needed on each level and the amount of light that the Solatube Daylighting Systems would bring into the spaces.
Thermal Insulated Panels were also added to limit the amount of heat transfer into the building from the roof, and extension turrets were used to raise the outer domes and limit the amount of shade cast upon the devices.
RESULTS: The building has achieved LEED Platinum certification, and natural daylight fills the area over communal work and gathering tables, improving the health and well-being of students, faculty and staff.
“With Solatube, we were afforded the opportunity to deliver natural daylighting into deep zones of the building, allowing spaces to have an enhanced quality of light, which has directly impacted occupant comfort,” said Philip Weddle, FAIA.
“The Solatube Tubular Daylighting Systems provide a level of ambiance to everyone working in the building, and the natural light provided by the system makes working, studying and doing homework feel better, said Tucker Brown, Arizona State University student.”
The Design Process
Challenge: Providing for daylight to penetrate deep within each floor of a multi-floor building.
Results: Ability to direct daylight into the centers or the second and third floors of the building. LEED Platinum achieved.
Product: SolaMaster Series 330 and 750 DS-C
Solatube Distributor/Installer: Norcon Industries Inc.
Architect: Weddle Gilmore Black Rock Studio
Remaining committed to delivering the most advanced, energy-efficient daylighting technology on the market, Solatube International Inc., the worldwide leading manufacturer and marketer of Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs), announced it has achieved another daylight-industry first: The ability to daylight an ICC 500 storm shelter and FEMA P-361 safe room using the Solatube SolaMaster 750DS TDD.
After rigorous evaluation by the ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), The Solatube SolaMaster 750DS TDD (model S750DS-O-DPI-FC CCI-EXX E-L2P) was awarded the first-ever ICC 500 Storm Shelter Listing Report, making it the only rooftop daylighting device in the world compliant for use in horizontal surfaces of tornado or hurricane storm shelters – even in EF 5 and CAT 5 territory.
“We are honored and proud to be able to provide communities with an affordable daylighting solution that delivers high protective effectiveness and pleasing design aesthetics to any facility that a community may depend on to provide safe, sheltering environments,” said Solatube International President Robert E. Westfall, Jr.
An increased effort to build more tornado shelters, especially in schools and emergency response facilities, has been a priority in tornado-prone areas since the devastating tornado that hit Jarrell, Texas, in 1997.The ICC 500 ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters provides minimum design and construction requirements for storm shelters, containing basic occupant life safety and health requirements for “these shelters including means of egress, lighting, sanitation, ventilation, fire safety and floor space”.
Additionally, in many cases, these storm shelters serve as dual-use facilities such as gymnasiums, cafeterias, classrooms, senior centers or entire buildings.
"Protection comes first, but it's also important – especially in schools – to provide a healthy, inspiring environment rather than a windowless, 'bunker-like' enclosure,” added Westfall. “Studies by groups like Heschong Mahone and the University of Oregon have shown that broad-spectrum daylight, when incorporated into learning spaces, can help improve cognitive skills, performance, visibility and mood, reduce the number of absentee days and even reduce microbial communities associated with indoor dust by 50%.”
Cost-effective, energy-efficient and eco-friendly, a Solatube TDD harvests daylight at the rooftop, transfers it down a highly reflective tube and distributes it evenly into an interior space through a diffuser at the ceiling — on both sunny and cloudy days — with virtually no maintenance. Solatube is proud to offer the highest Light Transfer Efficiency (LTE), the most consistent Color Temperature Maintenance (CTM) and the best light-to-solar heat gain ratio of any daylighting system on the market.
The first Solatube product was sold in 1991 and today more than 2 million people have improved their homes with Solatube TDDs, and millions more have enjoyed the benefits at department stores, schools, hotels, hospitals, grocery stores, offices and athletic facilities. Well-known Fortune 500 brands have enhanced their customers’ experiences while reducing their corporate energy costs by incorporating Solatube products into their stores, offices and facilities.
Solatube is a Safe Room Component manufacturer as well as a member of the National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA).
