Spring 2009
Eco-Friendly
WITH AN ENERGY-PRODUCING CANOPY, LOW-FLOW WATER FIXTURES, and a design that minimizes light pollution, UNLV’s newest building is also its first to target the gold standard in green design.
Greenspun Hall sits on a prime location on Maryland Parkway next to the Student Union. It is targeting a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification.
Photo by R. Marsh Starks
The 120,000-square-foot building consists of four interconnected towers. Its photovoltaic array shades the facility’s distinctive courtyard and will offset about 13 percent of the building’s energy consumption. A chilled-beam heating and cooling system is expected to save $83,000 per year over traditional systems.
The facility brought most of the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs units into one location to foster collaboration among departments. The college — which includes environmental studies, social work, journalism, public administration, criminal justice, communication studies, and marriage and family therapy — addresses many quality-of-life issues in the region. Its 190-seat auditorium hosts classes as well as community events.
The construction project is an example of the kind of public-private partnerships UNLV is forming to advance as an institution amidst tight budget times. The Greenspun Family Foundation contributed $37 million, or 40 percent of the building’s construction costs, for the project. It is the largest single donation to UNLV and one of the largest in state history. State funds covered the rest of the project’s costs.
Virtual life
Las Vegas may lose its landmarks to the sands of time, but visiting Italian students are bringing them back. Using technology common in video games, the students from Politecnico di Torino recreated the Sands resort circa 1960. This spring, a second team is making the Stardust more than a memory.
Their research draws upon the archives in UNLV Libraries, including more than 600 pictures and video footage to recreate such details as the patterns of the carpet to the “S” on the Sands’ napkins. The 3-D tour walks viewers through the property, allowing them to play virtual roulette as they are immersed in the history of the casino.
The Politecnico
students are working
under the direction
of UNLV’s entertainment
engineering
& design program.
UNLV and the Italian
university are partnering
to advance
both institutions’
entertainment
engineering programs,
which merge
studies and traditional
engineering.
Follow the Re-Living
Las Vegas project
online at stardust.polito.it/rllv. A demo
lets you walk through
the Sands main entrance
and pool.