CBP Magazine: Articles

Designing a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building to house the Tiger Woods Learning Center was the goal. A curtain wall and a reflective roof membrane helped achieve the objectives.

Situated next to the course on which golf champion Tiger Woods learned to play, the Tiger Woods Learning Center (TWLC) in Anaheim, CA, is the realization of Woods' dream to make a difference in people's lives. "This is, by far, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. This is bigger than anything I've ever done on the golf course, because we will be able to shape lives," Woods said during the Center's dedication, according to the Associated Press.

The center includes seven classrooms, a computer lab, a multimedia center, a student lounge and café, a driving range, and an 18-hole putting course. Students receive extra training in reading, math, and science in a high-tech, wireless environment. Career exploration, good sportsmanship, and community involvement also are part of the educational opportunities offered at TWLC.

According to Chris McGeady, project manager at Irvine, CA-based DRI Commercial Construction, the Tiger Woods Foundation had two requirements for the new facility: It must be state-of-the-art (the building has 100 computer stations, a recording studio, and a 1,200-sq.-ft. multimedia center) and it must be energy-efficient. Two exterior products, supplied by Wausau Window and Wall Systems, Wausau, WI, and Sarnafil Inc., Canton, MA, helped achieve this goal.

The architectural firm of Langdon Wilson designed TWLC to be powered by both a rooftop solar array and a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) curtainwall engineered by Wausau.

Achieving TWLC's desired look and the BIPV system's proper performance demanded close collaboration between all of the building team's members. Designed by Solar Design Associates (SDA), Harvard, MA, and installed by The Carvist Corp., Placentia, CA, Wausau engineered and manufactured TWLC's energy-generating curtainwall system. According to SDA, the BIPV system will produce 3,800 kW of energy per year.

"We are particularly excited by this system because it is the first of its kind in the United States to be installed as part of a building envelope," said Marcie Edwards, general manager of Anaheim Public Utilities.

To span the 21-ft. high x 65-ft. wide opening, the building team selected Wausau's SuperWall system using photovoltaic (PV) modules from Schott North America Inc., Elmsford, NY. The vertical mullions that fully enclose the building's structural steel were specially fabricated to integrate the wiring of the PV modules. The project's BIPV curtainwall was tested and certified for safety by the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Inc., Northbrook, IL, and complies with the seismic requirements of California's building code.

"I've always heard that Wausau's good to work with, but this is the first time I've had the opportunity. Everybody here was impressed with their quality," said George Ness, project manager, The Carvist Corp. "This project pushes the envelope and everyone seems very pleased with the outcome-how it looks, how it performs. With Wausau's system and Schott's PV panels, it came together the right way."

Helping accomplish this, Wausau sequenced and shipped its SuperWall system "knocked-down" in 11 vertical ladder frames so The Carvist Corp. could accurately assemble the system on-site. Each framing unit contains five lites and, due to the curtainwall's sloping and splayed design, each lite varied in size. The lites also varied in opacity and power-generation. The top panels produce 72 W each with an opacity of 5%, while the lower panels produce 60 W of energy and offer 25% opacity. The bottom and largest lites in the framing system are clear-vision glass.

One roof that also met the state-of-the-art and energy-efficiency requirements was Sarnafil's white, reflective EnergySmart roof. This single-ply system features the company's thermoplastic membrane, which is polyester-reinforced for high breaking and tearing strength. Its white color reflects the sun's rays, keeping the building cooler and reducing air-conditioning costs. In addition, the membrane seams are hot-air welded, which literally fuses the membrane overlaps together to form one continuous, monolithic membrane sheet.

Bob Sutton, associate partner at Langdon Wilson Architecture Planning Interiors in Irvine, CA, explained that the white, reflective roof helped qualify the center for a subsidy from Anaheim Public Utilities. "Anaheim Public Utilities agreed to pay the additional cost of design features that reduced calculated building energy consumption below the levels established by California's Title 24 standards for energy efficiency," he explained.

There was also the assurance that comes with using a well-established and respected product. "We went with Sarnafil not only because of its energy-saving attributes, but also because of a good price-to-performance ratio, low maintenance costs, and strong recommendations for the quality of the product," Sutton said.

Mike Hazo, project manager at Snyder Langston, the general contractor on the project added, "Sarnafil is a great brand name and we've had fabulous experiences with them. We recommend them often because they really make a great product." He added, "Installing roofs that don't leak only helps me down the road because I don't have to go back to the site to take care of roofing problems."

Usually the installation of a roof on a new building is free from surprises, but that wasn't the case with TWLC. The first unexpected obstacle was dealing with the deck slope at the concrete HVAC area. "Somehow the layout of the concrete came out differently from the original design, and the slope of the concrete pushed water away from the roof drains instead of toward them," McGeady explained. "DRI worked with the design team to reconfigure the tapered insulation to force the water back to the drains and maintain the original slope of the building. All of this was done without interrupting the construction schedule."

There were several other challenges as well. Since aesthetics was a top priority, McGeady said DRI had to make sure the single-ply membrane was "laying extremely flat." In addition, he said, the equipment area on the roof was "pretty congested" so that area required extensive detailing.

Finally, the roof had to be protected from foot traffic during construction. "There were several trades working on the roof at certain times, and the Foundation's board did several walk-throughs as well," McGeady said. "To protect the roof from all the activity, we put down a 1/2-in. Dens-Deck and plastic and covered it with tarps to protect the roofing system from the other trades." This protective cover was then removed when all work on the roof was completed.

In addition to using the white, reflective membrane, the roof included thicker insulation with an R-value of 30 to provide additional energy savings. However, the polyisocyanurate insulation that was specified was in high demand during this period and thus was difficult to obtain. Fortunately, DRI Commercial and Sarnafil were able to work together to use their resources and purchasing power to guarantee availability of the insulation. "This enabled the owner to exceed the mandatory R-19 insulation requirements needed," McGeady said.

Windows, Roof Score a Hole in One