The event is part of the year-long 2010 celebration commemorating UMM’s 50th birthday and the West Central School of Agriculture (WCSA) and Experiment Station’s 100th anniversary of its founding.
Although the WCSA closed in 1963, the WCROC carries on the Experiment Station’s legacy of agricultural research and education. The WCROC’s new addition and renovation features energy efficient design and technologies coupled with renewable energy research. The new green building includes healthier and more productive environments for WCROC and Extension Regional Office staff and visitors.
The design opens the building to additional day lighting and provides quality indoor and outdoor space for professional interaction. The expanded office and work space includes a new conference/multi-purpose room that seats up to 200 people theatre style and 120 people in seminar and class room settings. The handicapped-accessible building serves as a test showcase for green building and renewable energy. Even though the building doubled in size, energy usage is expected to remain constant by using solar panels, motion sensors to monitor lights, improved insulation, and energy efficient doors and windows. The project was funded through Minnesota Legislature bonding and a grant from the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.
UMM’s new Welcome Center also has ties to the past. The former Community Services Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the WCSA and Experiment Station Historic District. It is also the first building in Minnesota to use energy efficient chilled beam technology. Chilled beams, using water not air, and in-floor radiant heat cool and heat the facility. The WCROC wind turbine and the campus’s biomass plant will power the building. Funded through Minnesota Legislature bonding, the facility was built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum standards. It houses the Offices of Admissions, External Relations, Continuing Education, Community Engagement, and the Center for Small Towns.
A formal dedication for the WCROC facility and the Welcome Center will be held on July 29, 2010 and September 26, 2010, respectively.
