ASU grabs gold medal for sustainable fitness facility


March 20, 2014

The Polytechnic Campus Sun Devil Fitness Complex has earned a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The complex is the 23rd ASU building to receive a gold certification, which is the second highest green building ranking under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The Polytechnic Campus Sun Devil Fitness Complex is the 39th ASU building to be LEED certified. exterior of Sun Devil Fitness Complex Poly Download Full Image

ASU Facilities Development and Management completed work on the 61,000-square-foot facility in January 2013.

“This significant project has allowed ASU to provide a state-of-the-art fitness environment for our students, and to embrace sustainable design and technologies – especially in energy conservation,” said Bruce Jensen, interim associate vice president, ASU Facilities Development and Management.

The project received 17 out of 19 points for optimizing energy performance on its LEED scorecard. Solar panels and a solar pool heater boosted the project to a perfect score for its ability to create onsite renewable energy.

"The Architekton design team went above and beyond to make this building energy efficient,” said John Kane, the ASU project manager who oversaw construction. Kane, the founding partner and design principal at Architekton, is also an ASU architecture alumnus. “LEED criteria look at how well the building will perform in its location. Given the hot summers and almost constant sunny days here, we felt it was an imperative to make efficiency an integral part of the design.”

Passive cooling of the building became a hallmark of the design. The facility was designed to funnel air thorough a breezeway near the building’s core, removing heat and providing shade.

“This facility is further testament to ASU’s leadership role in developing highly sustainable environments," said Edmundo Soltero, assistant vice president of the ASU Office of the University Architect.

The $25,590,000 complex was funded from a student services facility fee implemented in fall 2011. The facility fee also funded student recreation projects at the ASU Tempe, Downtown and West campuses.

The Polytechnic Campus Sun Devil Fitness Complex was constructed in direct response to student demand and input. Student committees helped program the complex, which includes a host of amenities:

• weight and fitness areas
• an outdoor leisure pool with lap lanes
• soccer and softball fields

The complex boasts three multipurpose studios for aerobics, boot camp, yoga, dance, Pilates and student club use. New gymnasiums house space for basketball, volleyball, badminton, campus events, conferences, concerts and indoor soccer. Racquetball courts and an expanded health services department round out the building’s offerings. Programs and services are open at the facility during the day, as well as evenings and weekends.

Gilbane Inc. was the project’s construction manager, and design firm Architekton was the architect.

Eric Jensen, eric.jensen@asu.edu
ASU Facilities Development and Management

Wendy Craft

Marketing and communications manager, Business and Finance Communications Group

480-965-6695

ASU summit to address black, Latino relations


March 20, 2014

Arizona State University's Center for the Study of Race and Democracy is hosting the Black and Latino Coalition Project March 27-28, a dynamic community summit on cultural identity, conflict and cooperation in black and Latino communities.

The project aims to improve black and Latino relations in a region in which these groups have a shared, sometimes tense, past and present. This project serves as a catalyst in the understanding and delivery of unifying programming to the people of Arizona and beyond in our effort to unite and harness the dynamism and ascending social, economic and political influence of the most populous and visible groups of color in the United States. Black and Latino Coalition Project flyer Download Full Image

The 2014 community summit is comprised of three programs/events:

“Trending Race: Shaping and Embracing Black and Latino Identity” is a documentary film executive produced by the Center for the Study of Race & Democracy and ASU’s Committee for Campus Inclusion that investigates the ways in which blacks and Latinos have fashioned their diverse and dynamic identities over time, with a particular emphasis on contemporary conflict and cooperation. Screenings of “Trending Race” will be held at all four ASU campuses at 7 p.m., March 27, followed by a facilitated discussion and Q&A session. Screening locations: A. E. England Building, Civic Park Space, Downtown Phoenix campus; Cooley Ballroom, Student Union, Polytechnic campus; Verde Dining Pavilion, Multipurpose Room, West campus; and Discovery Hall, room 150, Tempe campus.

The Community Building Workshop & Strategy Session will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., March 28, at Mercado C, Downtown Phoenix campus. Facilitators and speakers include Luke Black of the Arizona Community Action Association, Hortencia Gutierrez, senior career specialist at ASU, and Matthew C. Whitaker, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

In the finale event, Whitaker will moderate a Community Conversation with award-winning actor, director and social activist Edward James Olmos and educator, entrepreneur and filmmaker Lasana O. Hotep as they delve into the promise and challenges facing the most visible, populous groups of color in the United States.

For more information, visit csrd.asu.edu/blcp.

Media contact:
Sarah Herrera, sarah.herrera@asu.edu
Center for the Study of Race and Democracy
602-496-2114

Lisa Robbins

Assistant Director, Media Relations and Strategic Communications

480-965-9370