The College of Southern Nevada (CSN) presented the design team with a unique challenge for the design of a prototypical student union building to be constructed on each of their three campuses simultaneously. Currently the students do not have a place where they can gather, study, work on group projects, relax and enjoy a meal, or simply have a place to spend time between classes.

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Our primary considerations in designing this facility were solving the above concerns, while enhancing the campus and student culture experience by achieving the following goals: Simplify on-site circulation; Define the main entry; Provide transparency between the commons and exterior/campus; Create comfortable space for students to gather; Daylight the high volume and internal spaces including the commons, main corridor, and meeting rooms (controlled); Provide meeting space with access to the exterior, pre-function space, and to the kitchen for catering purposes; Clad the building in durable materials; Design a building that will be the focal point of campus.

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The proposed building is a 28,887 gross square foot single story building with a high-volume commons and food service seating space. Primary considerations in the design of the facility are student flow, access to food services and student services (Advising, ASCSN, Mutli-cultural), functionality and access to the meeting rooms, and providing a comfortable place for students to gather, as well as a focal point of the campus. We worked closely with CSN’s planning and construction department along with the building user's groups including student services, student affairs, diversity + multi-cultural affairs, event planning, purchasing (food service planning), and most importantly the students themselves through their student government group (ASCSN).

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The Student Union incorporates several strategies to not only provide an energy efficient building, but also provide a pleasant space for students and employees. Strategies: Energy Management Control System; Displacement Ventilation System at Meeting Rooms; LED Lighting with Daylight Dimming; Fan Wall Technology + High Application Chillers/Coolers; Roof Top Mounted Photovoltaic Panels; High Efficiency Plumbing Fixtures; Daylight Diffusing Glazing at Clerestories; Low VOC Recycled Content Materials; Cool Roof Technology. By incorporating these strategies, the energy use for the design is predicted to be 39 percent better than the baseline. Renewable energy strategies are anticipated to produce 40 percent of the building energy use.