A High-tech, Green Collaboration

Check it out -- students in one Arizona school district don't just learn green curriculum, they will learn in a green environment. Emily Richmond from the Las Vegas Sun has the scoop.

LAS VEGAS -- The Clark County School District's new technology campus -- a $65 million, 112,000-square-foot complex that will be the new home of Vegas PBS -- won't be finished until March.

Admirers are lining up. Architects are praising its environmentally and aesthetically innovative design, at Flamingo Road and Pecos-McLeod. Local agencies are seeking to use the facility, which includes a homeland security nerve center, for teaching medical personnel and training crime scene investigators. Other public television stations are evaluating it as a model for expanding beyond the basic programming that they have long been known for.

Indeed, public television has rarely been this interesting -- homeland security, distance education and cooking shows, all in a building that redefines green construction.

The combination will allow Vegas PBS "to develop its own revenue stream and have less reliance on public support," said Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes. "I really see it as the wave of the future."

The Clark County School Board holds the broadcasting license for Vegas PBS, which includes eight broadcast channels, on-demand educational programming and network services. The cost of the project is divided between the district and Vegas PBS, which is independent from the school district.

Sharing the campus is the district's educational technology department and the Virtual High School, which provides distance education for thousands of students.

The district's educational technology department and Virtual High School are housed in a separate, structurally independent building alongside Vegas PBS'. There are offices, meeting rooms and small classroom studios, where teachers can record lectures for Web broadcast. A fully equipped science lab is wired for recording.

The lab was added after a district administrator pointed out that Virtual High School students aren't able to take some Advanced Placement science classes as a result. It, too, will generate additional revenue. Because district students will use the lab on a limited basis, there's time to schedule outside agencies to use it, said Tom Axtell, general manager of Vegas PBS.

The lab has drawn the interest of the Southern Nevada Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and Metro Police, Axtell said. The former wants to use it to offer classes and workshops to health professionals, and the latter needs space to train crime scene investigators.

"To be in a proper educational venue with state-of-the art facilities is going to enhance the quality of everything we do," said Rose Yuhos, executive director of Southern Nevada AHEC. The arrangement could become "a model for the rest of the country."

The Vegas PBS facility will also serve as the federally designated Homeland Security emergency operations center. After the 9/11 attacks, 31 public television affiliates formed a coalition to make sure the stations' resources could be put to use in an emergency. Vegas PBS' digital television signal will serve as backup if conventional communication lines collapse.

The building is designed to ensure its systems survive a disaster or attack. It is reinforced to withstand a powerful earthquake, the valley's most likely natural disaster.

The station is also developing the ability to operate at least a week with no external power, which would allow it to inform viewers and emergency personnel at a time when there might not be any other sources of information.

The environmental and aesthetic design elements of the facility are attracting the most attention.

The campus is aiming for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which recognizes sustainability, water efficiency, materials and resources as well as innovation and design.

The design features underground wells that will help cool the building in the summer. A cistern beneath the parking lot will collect runoff water and recycle it in the landscaping.
The building's interior and exterior were designed to maximize natural sunlight and reduce reliance on artificial lighting.

The facility might become a "signature" project for the region, said Deepika Padam, the 2009 president of the U.S. Green Building Council's Nevada chapter, which awards LEED certification in the region.

"It exemplifies that green buildings don't have to be simple," Padam said. "It's high-tech and structurally sound."

True to its educational mission, Vegas PBS plans a six-part documentary on the new building.

"Education is the key word here," Padam said. "Anyone can do a green building, but unless you educate people about it, how can they learn to do the same in the future?"

For the complete story, visit the Las Vegas Sun.