A Community Vision Becomes Reality

The creative people of Santa Fe have enormous reason to celebrate the opening of the Trades and Advanced Technology Center (TATC) at Santa Fe Community College and they should celebrate their role in making their vision a reality.

Our community cultivated the vision that Santa Fe be a national leader in clean energy and water conservation technologies development, education, and deployment.

Deep community collaboration was inspired by people who prodded their elected officials to reach for ever greener goals in their strategic economic and development plans and in building new public facilities. They demanded changes to building codes, supported incentives for green installations in homes and businesses, and built companies that need a trained workforce to succeed. Voters overwhelmingly supported the bond issues to fund construction of a green training facility.

SFCC responded with the opening of a state-of-the-art building that delivers on the community vision in a powerful way. The TATC also houses the Sustainable Technologies Center which delivers cutting-edge workforce training in green industries.

What is most special about the TATC is the way ideas percolated up to be included in the design of the building and the curriculum. Community members, non-profit organizations, administrators, faculty, staff, students, and the designers and builders of the facility worked together over many years nurturing the vision and making it real. The result is a greener building, unique curriculum, a better learning environment, and beautiful inspirational spaces to encourage more collaboration.

The building itself is a true learning lab with exposed building systems, plumbing pipes, electrical wiring, solar installations, and mechanical features so students can see and learn from the building’s guts. There are traditional classrooms and interactive workshop spaces that blend academic mission with environmental design.

The green features of the building include solar heating and air conditioning (using equipment that converts solar hot water into chilled water and is one of only three such systems in the country). Roof top water collection to flush toilets, gray water storage for irrigation, reflective roofing, and skylights with fiber optic tubes that reflect and expand light distribution are just some of the green features. SFCC is working on LEED certification for the building and is aiming for a gold rating.

The lighting design by Derry Berrigan and the national sustainable lighting firm DB Power of 3 is the only system of its kind in a college in the world with 96% LED lighting technology. It is extremely energy efficient and its “smart” lighting control system is designed to enhance the activity taking place in each space throughout the building.

Architect Allan Baer of Lloyd & Associates designed a marriage between the TATC and the arts education wing of SFCC that adjoins it. Sculpture and clay students work across the courtyard from students growing algae and making biofuels. From the rooftop classrooms designed for solar installation classes, technology students can see artists at work. Eventually students will be able to share a welding studio where sculptures will be created next to mechanical forms.

To truly experience the integration of art, design, green technologies, and the living lab, walk through the building. Enter through the main entrance drum that symbolizes industry and innovation. Explore the roof top classrooms. Stroll through the building past art installations and inviting study nooks and emerge into the arts wing where more than 200 SFCC students have art on display.

Then thank the SFCC Board, President Sheila Ortego and yourselves for your vision and your hard work to keep Santa Fe the special place that it is.

Kris Swedin is a community activist, writer, and staffs a 21-year-old calico cat.

She is also on the board of Creative Santa Fe, a non-profit organization working to strengthen Santa Fe’s creative economy. www.creativesantafe.org