Facilities Committee

Plans and Updates

Chabot-Las Positas Community College District

Measure B Bond Program

Program Definition

Building 1900

Astronomy/Physics/Sciences

Prepared by: Sarah Jahnke, Dean, Math and Science

Scott Hildreth, Astronomy/Physics Faculty

Tim Dave, Astronomy/Physics Faculty

Billy Smith, Astronomy Emeritus Faculty

With assistance from:

Laurie O’Connor, Chemistry Faculty

Approved by: _________________________________________________

Dr. Robert Carlson, President

Chabot College

Approved by: _________________________________________________

Roy Stutzman, Consultant

Chabot-Las Positas Community College District

PROGRAM DEFINITION

CHABOT COLLEGE

Project Description

Project Name: PLANETARIUM AND CLASSROOM BUILDING RENOVATION

Project Location: Chabot College Building 1900

Hours of Operation:

The building is in use during the time that the campus is open, that is, from 7 am to 11 pm Monday through Friday. The building is also used for occasional community education and special events on Friday and Saturday evenings during the Summer, Fall and Spring terms. We’ve attached a handout that lists usage this year (2005-06) and has hand-written numbers to indicate enrollment in those classes at the census date.

Vision Statement

These threads should be the vision that guides renovation of Building 1900:

The Planetarium and its surroundings should be a ‘jewel’ on our campus. It is one of the ‘signature’ buildings. Few community colleges in California are lucky enough to have a fully-functional permanent planetarium on their campuses; fewer still use theirs for full-time teaching and presentations.
All areas should be accessible to everyone. This is a primary part of our vision.
The lecture halls in building 1900 should be outstanding lecture halls for any subject, enabling multimedia-rich educational experiences and demonstration capabilities for science as well as non-science classes.
Teaching technology should be maximized for the Planetarium and the lecture halls.

Project Goals

The Planetarium and its surroundings should be a ‘jewel’ on our campus. It is one of the ‘signature’ buildings. Few community colleges in California are lucky enough to have a fully-functional permanent planetarium on their campuses; fewer still use theirs for full-time teaching and presentations.

It should be very functional technologically. It must accommodate advanced multimedia presentations with projection capability focused onto its curved ceiling, advanced light controls, internet and video feeds, and must feature outstanding acoustics.
It should be viewed as a teaching ‘theater’ for credit classes, special events for the community, and Community Education.
The lobby outside the Planetarium should be made more lounge-like, providing protection in inclement weather for students and the community awaiting the start of a class as well as meeting during or after classes.
The Planetarium’s existing main entrance, through a single set of doors between the rest rooms, should be protected from light pollution and interruption by late-arriving students. We should consider the feasibility of a vestibule entrance as well as improved access from the rear of the building, possibly including a second rear entrance.
Sight lines for students should be considered in the remodel to include the installation of a Planetarium projector elevator that improves the room’s capability for lecture and discussion.
We should make better use of the Planetarium’s second level for additional storage.

All areas should be accessible to everyone.
- Access and wheelchair space for disabled students in the Planetarium must be built into the new seating plan, preferably using the rear entrance, so that sight lines to the main projection screen are optimal.
- Wheelchair access to the building should be provided on both sides of the lobby area, so students can enter the building for either direction.
The lecture halls in building 1900 should be outstanding lecture halls for any subject, enabling multimedia-rich educational experiences and demonstration capabilities for science as well as non-science classes.

There should be adequate power sources for media and for demonstrations, as well as throughout the lecture seating area to accommodate students and portable technologies.
Demonstration space at the front of the classrooms should be adequate for the demos that will be done there, including lab benches wide enough for equipment. These demo benches should be equipped for gas, electricity, air, etc. Water should be available, though this could be in an adjacent sink, rather than on the lab bench.
Audiovisuals should be excellent.
These halls should be equipped as smart classrooms with multiple viewing screens, so all students can simultaneously see multiple types of media being used by the teacher. The placement and operation of screens and chalk/white boards should be flexible to allow many teaching styles and configurations.
At least one of the classrooms should be linked to LPC to enable synchronous education via two-way TV. Doing so may allow small-section classes being taught at either campus to broadcast or received, improving access for our students. 1906 is suggested as a target for this capability, and Physics has at least one class that might take advantage of such an electronic linkage.
If possible, 1904 and 1906 should be made larger (suggest using the space currently used by 1910 to do this).
Sight lines should be good for students.
Seating should be sturdy and fit the types of students we really have.
Walls should be adaptable to many functions, not just empty space.
Windows would be a plus.
Interior lights should be able to be dimmed and brightened by section. Lighting should be excellent.
The design of these areas needs to reflect current lecture facility design with full attention paid to color, lighting, ventilation, technology, and furnishings.

Teaching technology should be maximized for the Planetarium and the lecture halls.

Equip the classrooms and Planetarium with a complete package of teaching technology, including the ability to receive multiple simultaneous feeds for television, as well as voice and data.

Component Description

Department/Use/Shared Spaces:

a. Brief description of function, need, and use

Planetarium (1902):

The planetarium is essentially a theater-like classroom space with surrounding storage spaces. It is a classroom especially equipped with the star projector and various multimedia presentation capabilities. Astronomy 10 and 20 are taught in the planetarium. Additionally, there are some community education classes each semester, where members of the public can come in for a short class on Astronomy. The planetarium is not very accessible for handicapped persons at present. Attention needs to be paid to how wheelchairs can be accommodated. Openings for wheelchairs among the other seats are needed. For general seating, bench seating is preferred, as it will allow us to include more people for some activities.

We should consider whether or not to turn the direction of the seating to the opposite of what it is now, changing the entryway for students into the rear of the theater, rather than into the front as is the current result. This would allow for less intrusion by latecomers. We should consider whether to add a second door at what is now the rear of the planetarium near the custodial closet. This may make entry for handicapped students easier and provide a better solution to light pollution when someone enters class after it has started.

It would be good if the planetarium projector could sink down and raise up as it is needed. This would provide better sight lines for students when the facility is used for lecture.

It would be a great idea to utilize part of the first floor storage area of the planetarium as studio space. Access to the second level of the storage area should be improved, so it’s easier to get to.

The star projector in the planetarium is an oldie but a goodie. If we were to replace it, it would be quite expensive. We are willing to take the time and much smaller expense to keep it maintained. The faculty would much prefer to keep the old projector and spend money to make the planetarium better in every other way. It is important to put the money we have into excellent video equipment. We’d like to fill the dome with multiple video images (projected on a curve that is visible to all in the planetarium).

The roof of the planetarium should be polished up, and it would be good to extend the eaves a little, at least near the lobby to offer more protection from the weather. Air handling from outside to inside sometimes draws outdoor cigarette smoke and other odors into the planetarium, and this should be corrected.

Lecture Halls:

There are three tiered lecture halls in 1900. These are shared by a number of classes on campus.

1904: A medium-sized tiered lecture hall. Double lecture sections of classes, such as Biology 10, Biology 31, Biology 50, Physics 4A, Chemistry 31, Chemistry 30A, Chemistry 30B, etc., utilize this space, as there are usually 48-56 students in a double lecture section. Also, the room is used for such classes as Health 1, 4, and 8, and Nutrition 1, which are often large classes for the Health and PE department. The room presently holds about 60 students. It is equipped with a projection cage for movies and slides (this should be removed). If it were to be expanded by removing the office, room 1910, it would allow a little more seating and more demonstration space. To expand 1904 by removal of 1910 would most likely require removal of the adjacent janitor’s closet also.

Walls should be useful for various normal classroom activities.

It may be good to have tables and chairs in the back row, as well as integrated electronics power ports for those students using laptops in class. Students will need the advantage of wireless technology.

Acoustics should be improved. The room should have capability for videoconferencing. It would also be useful to be able to hook up to software located in buildings 3900 and 2100, so this software could be used to present molecular modeling and other concepts in the lecture setting.

1906: This is a small tiered lecture hall, which presently holds about 40 students. It is used for classes of that size or less. Biology, Chemistry, and Health classes may use this classroom, as well as a sprinkling of classes from other divisions. It is equipped with a projection cage for movies and slides (this should be removed). If this classroom could be increased a little in size by removal of the office, room 1910, it would allow a little more seating and more demonstration space.

The Physics department would like to be able to use this classroom for distance education classes beamed out to LPC. This would enable us to combine classes usually very small in enrollment at both campuses. This room should be a fully-capable smart classroom. We need to be able to do video and audio feeds from Las Positas, NASA, etc., and broadcast from the classroom to receiving sites in the district or elsewhere. We will need some projection-booth control at the rear of the classroom for instructors who choose not to or cannot operate AV equipment and cameras for video teleconferencing. A virtual telescope would be a plus. It may be good to have tables and chairs in the back row, as well as integrated electronics power ports for those students using laptops in class.

Acoustics should be improved. The room should have capability for videoconferencing.

1908: This is a large tiered lecture hall, which holds about 120 students. It is used for our large sections of Health 1, 4, 8, Nutrition 1, and other large classes across campus. It is one of only a few classes of this size on campus. It is equipped with a projection cage for movies and slides (this should be removed).

Windows would be a plus, though light control would be necessary. Walls at the side and rear should be made more useful for various normal classroom activities.

It may be good to have tables and chairs in the back row, as well as integrated electronics power ports for those students using laptops in class. In this large a space, it would be a good idea to have multiple viewing screens, so all students can see what is being projected.

Acoustics should be improved. The room should have capability for videoconferencing.

Storage Space: The planetarium has storage space surrounding it at ground level and one floor above this. The upstairs surrounding the planetarium is accessible only by ladder. It would be lovely if the second-floor space were more accessible.

There is also a small amount of storage space in a small corner closet in 1908, though nobody seems to know what is stored in this closet. It could be removed.

Office: This room (1910) has been used for various purposes over the years. It was first developed as a prep room for chemistry and biology lecture classes in building 1900, and thus is equipped with water, gas, and a fume hood. We would be surprised if any of this is in workable condition anymore.

1910 has been used as a storage room and an office alternatively over the last several years. Its usefulness is dated. That is why we are suggesting removing it and using the space to expand the size of 1906 and possibly 1904.

Lobby: The lobby is a small space between the planetarium and the tiered classrooms. Students wait in this area for classes to start. On the occasions when there is a special event in the planetarium, people waiting for this event may wait in this area. Presently, it’s an essentially empty space, though walls are used for posters and award plaques. There is no seating in the lobby, and some loose and built-in furniture would be very useful. As it is, students sit on the floor.

There is no double door for prevention of light pollution when entering the planetarium from the lobby. This too would be very useful, though the restroom doors may prevent this, if no change is made to the entries of the restrooms.

The lobby is presently glassed in, and that type of enclosure is preferred.

Outdoor Area at the front and back of 1900: There are asphalt and concrete spaces immediately to the front and back of the planetarium building. One can walk all the way around the planetarium on concrete and asphalt walkways.

There is concrete aggregate seating around the building, and students sometimes sit there to chat or do work. However, smoke and other odors from students outside the building sometimes filter into the planetarium from outside, and it would be good to fix this problem.

There are some wooden benches on the side of the building next to building 1700. More seating outside would be useful, as would some sort of covering of the walkways near the front and rear of the building. This would allow guests to wait more comfortably in inclement weather.

Restrooms: There are restrooms next to the planetarium. The restrooms open into the lobby and wrap around the sides of the planetarium. They have been brought up mostly to ADA standards, but could use updating to be certain of ADA compliancy. If doors to the restrooms could be placed on the outside of the planetarium building, there would be more room to construct a vestibule around the planetarium entrance to prevent light pollution when someone enters the planetarium.

b. Number of FTE, Part-time, Number of offices, etc.

There are no functional offices in building 1900. Room 1910 has previously served in that capacity, but is no longer used for this purpose.