University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

‘Smart,’ Spacious Sol Center Shines Light on Latest in Technology,
Sustainability as CSUN’s New University Student Union

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Aug. 29, 2006) -- The interiors of Cal State Northridge’s newly renovated University Student Union (USU) are washed in light in anticipation of the facility’s grand opening next month.

On Sept. 12, a daylong celebration of the new Sol Center, complete with music, games and refreshments will begin with an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting in the facility’s Plaza del Sol, followed by media and student tours, crafts, musical performances and more. The new Sol Center is on the east side of the campus off Zelzah Avenue.

The festivities will mark the completion of the $15.2 million USU renovation project, whose funding was authorized by Cal State Northridge students in a 2000 referendum increasing student fees by $35 per semester. They will open the doors to a "smart, green" facility--wireless inside and out--for students, the campus community and the public.

"This was a student-driven project," said USU Executive Director Debra Hammond. "Students and staff have been involved every step of the way, right down to the selection of wall colors."

Student Audris Barnes, chair of the USU’s board of directors, said students are excited about the opening of the Sol Center. "It’s an amazing facility full of modern designs and contemporary features. I love it!" Barnes said.

An abundance of natural light in the three-story, 28,000 square foot structure, designed by the firm of Harley Ellis Devereaux, was important to CSUN students on the USU’s renovation team. Not only will the light enhance the USU environment, said Hammond, but it will reduce the consumption and cost of electricity.

A liberal use of green-tinted glass maximizes the effect of the natural light while minimizing heat load. Large windows, glass-paneled study room doors and the glass face of the first floor coffee house employ light as an architectural element. The USU’s signature "beacon," a tower of wrap-around fritted glass that absorbs and re-directs light, will illuminate the nighttime campus scene outside.

Conservation, sustainability and affordability were other factors important to the design team, which used exterior corrugated metals and easy care stucco to keep cleaning simple. A chiller plant provides chilled and hot water, pumped through a series of pipes and over a fan coil to blow cold or warm air into each room.

"It’s a much more energy-conscious way of providing air conditioning and heating by using circulating cold and hot water," said Jason Wang, associate director of operations and services for the USU.

Waterless urinals, hands-free faucets and paperless hand driers were conservation- and hygiene-minded, cost-effective measures championed during the design process by Gary Homesley, assistant director of USU facilities and maintenance, for restrooms on all three floors of the renovated structure. This led to a $2,400 water conservation rebate from the Department of Water and Power.

The ground floor features include a coffee house, study rooms and the Matador Involvement Center as well as a television lounge, staff operational space, and e-mail stations for students. A bank of three ATMs will be installed in early fall 2006.

On the second floor is a 70-work station computer lab--including a training lab for students, faculty and staff. Administrative offices, study rooms, two meeting rooms and a reading lounge for CSUN alumni and the campus community also are on that floor.

In addition to "spectacular" views of the north Valley to the hills, the third floor features more study rooms for up to six students each, rigged for the Internet, with wireless and hard wired access and data jack ports. A small patio for receptions, an executive conference room and a board room equipped with microphones and a plasma screen are available by reservation to students and the public.

The USU’s outdoor performance plaza, which accommodates up to 800 spectators, also can be viewed from the second and third floor balconies.

California State University, Northridge has 33,000 full- and part-time students and offers 62 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.