Architects take state back to nature

Wednesday, April 7, 2004 | 8:26 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A new state office building in Las Vegas is being designed to "take advantage of things God gave us," the architects say.

The proposed 60,000-square-foot headquarters of the state Division of Employment Security will have maximum daylight streaming through the offices and desert landscaping, say Jess Holmes and Bill Sabatini of the architecture firm of Dekker Perich Holmes Sabatini.

On Tuesday, they outlined the proposed design of the building to the state Public Works Board and the board approved proceeding.

The building is being designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification -- a voluntary standard marking a high level of energy efficiency and "green" design. The U.S. Green Building Council sets the standard.

Birgit Baker, director of the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said federal funds plus some money from land sales will finance the structure. The estimated cost is $12.5 million.

It will be built on Sahara Avenue near Eastern Avenue with the front facing St. Louis Avenue near the Bradley Building, also owned by the state.

Baker said the new building will allow the state to bring together the various functions of the division, now scattered throughout the Las Vegas Valley. That will translate into increased efficiency, she said.

Holmes and Sabatini said the sunlight will mean savings on heat in the winter and lower costs for lighting. And it allows employees to look outside. This type of a design leads to better productivity for workers, they said.

The concept, they said "is going back to nature -- it's gaining a lot of steam" nationally.

Although the architects showed artist renderings of the building at the meeting, they refused to provide the renderings for publication. They said they were still working on the final drawings.

State Budget Director Perry Comeaux, a member of the Public Works Board, said the boasts about productivity and cutting employee turnover are "more nebulous." He wants to see some "hard-dollar savings."

"It is extremely important to quantify the energy savings so we can calculate the payback period," said Comeaux.

The state uses its buildings "until they fall apart," Comeaux said. As an example, he cited the Blasdel Building in Carson City where his office is located. It is close to 50 years old.

If this new design works, Comeaux said, "Why not do it every single time if it pencils out?"

Gus Nunez, deputy manger of the public works board, said this is a new concept. It is more expensive to build but there will be energy savings. How much will be saved remains to be seen, Nunez said.

Dan O'Brien, manager of the Public Works Board, wanted to know about the landscaping. He noted that grass was planted around the Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas and then was pulled out to save on water.

Holmes said the new building would have a desert setting with natural vegetation. There will be small ponds to catch the runoff from rains.

The board also received an update on progress of the engineering and science building at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Chris Chimits, an architect for the board, said bids will be opened in January and construction will start in March.

The project is to be completed in April 2007, officials said. The construction cost was originally estimated at $58 million but only $52 million was available. So some changes were made and Chimits hopes the bids will come in at $49.7 million.

Thomas Hagge, associate vice president for facilities management and planning at UNLV, said the science and engineering building is being designed so it also will receive certification for its energy saving features.

He said some of the paybacks would come in two to three years and others in 10 to 15 years. He said receiving the energy saving certification was a "prestigious recognition and it is appropriate we reach for that goal."

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