Semi-permanent building solution
Temporary commercial kitchen facility erected on campus parking lot solves university's dining dilemma
Sprung Instant Structures. A two-year renovation project at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, which included the campus dining facilities, created the need for a full-service dining facility on campus in a short timeframe. The university had to find a semi-permanent building solution that also could meet the city's building code requirements.
Sprung Instant Structures, along with general contractor W.E. O'Neil and KTG “Kitchens to Go,” teamed up to produce an 11,238-square-foot temporary commercial kitchen facility. The team had about 3½ months to turn the site from a parking lot into a dining facility, and it completed the project on time and under budget.
The Lot is the largest single dining complex at USC, consisting of seven dining options and a retail store. The dining area has 373 interior seats and 137 exterior seats, with five plasma screens, a contemporary sound system, coffee, desserts, ATMs and wireless Internet.
Sustainable materials were used to build the dining facility. Many of the materials will be used again on a different project. The Lot also uses less electricity and air conditioning, and uses natural light during the day. It is hiring a waste-management company to ensure that recycled materials are separated and disposed of properly.
Select the March 2009 issue RSN number 155 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.
Green cleaning
Activeion Cleaning Solutions. The Activeion Pro transforms tap water into a powerful cleaner available in a spray bottle. It is efficient, cost-effective and safe because it uses activated water technology and contains no added chemicals. The tap water flows through a cell that applies a slight electrical charge. Next, the charged water passes through an ion exchange membrane, where it is separated into a mixture of positively and negatively charged nano-bubbles. When applied, the newly activated water helps lift the dirt from the surface like a magnet, enabling it to be wiped away. The activated water returns to its original tap water state after 30 to 45 seconds.
Select the March 2009 issue RSN number 150 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.
Daylighting controller
Watt Stopper/Legrand. The LS-102 Daylighting Controller provides closed-loop, single-zone, on/off switching of most types of lighting in response to daylight contributions. It automatically calibrates itself, eliminating the need for repeated manual calibrations to capture changing light levels as room reflectance levels change. This reduces setup requirements automatically.
Select the March 2009 issue RSN number 151 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.
Visitor management
EasyLobby, Inc. Package Mobile enables users to deliver packages throughout their campuses on a portable PDA with integrated signature capture and barcode scanning, without the need for a wireless network. It comes pre-installed on a full-featured, rugged Symbol handheld computer.
Select the March 2009 issue RSN number 152 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.
Tube heaters
Space-Ray. The PTS/PTU Series Low Intensity Infrared Tube Heaters come with a patent-pending Innovative Tube Integrity Safety System (TISS) that provides additional safety for building owners. Available in both natural and propane gas, the heaters use positive pressure to push products of combustion through the heavy-duty calorized, aluminized or alumatherm steel combustion chamber. This new series ensures the integrity of the system and provides the ultimate in fire protection for positive-pressure radiant tube heaters.
Select the March 2009 issue RSN number 153 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.
Wireless test receiver
Berkeley Varitronics Systems, Inc. The BEETLE-B/A/N/G is a wireless test receiver system that verifies, sweeps, measures and optimizes all popular 802.11 Wi-Fi network standards. Powerful packet analysis features, such as Delay Spread, Channel Frequency Response (CFR), Multipath (Ec/Io), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), SSID and Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) give it the distinction of being the only true handheld Wi-Fi packet analysis and direction-finding tool accurate to within +1 dB.
Select the March 2009 issue RSN number 154 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.
