Pierce College prepares to open new math/science building

Pierce College's new Rainier Math/Science Building. The new facility is scheduled to officially open on May 12, 2010. Photo by Nancy Covert.

A spiral sculpture crafted with dichromatic glass, a rock garden, a planetarium-style classroom, solar panels, “green” roofs — these are just a few of the many amenities featured in Pierce College’s new Rainier Building on the Fort Steilacoom campus. The approximately 70,000 sq. ft. structure, ready for occupancy at the end of March, is scheduled to be formally dedicated on May 12.

An early March visit to the site–east of the current campus–revealed an impressive, contemporary structure, consisting of three separate sections joined by vertical glass structures. Perched on a hillside above Ft. Steilacoom Park–an area that once was part of Western State Hospital’s Hill Ward–construction work on three pod buildings has been underway since 2008.

Designed by OPSIS and MSGS architecture firms of Olympia and Portland, the Rainier Building, appropriately capitalizes on the spectacular Mt. Rainier vista to the southeast. Building design is “green” says M/S Division Chair Ron May. The design, he adds, will likely receive a LEED gold award for its energy-savings design.

The new structure incorporates all the current energy-efficiency aspects such as low maintenance landscaping and low water usage. Spokane artist John Rogers, is designer of the spiral sculpture, May said, describing it as a stationary sculpture that seems to ‘move’ as the light changes;

Visit www.pierce.ctc.edu/go/rainier to view work-in-progress photos of the site.

With the official dedication of the tri-level, three pod structure set for mid May, PC faculty from physics, earth sciences, math, biology, and chemistry were scheduled to begin moving into the new facility on March 29, May said.

Construction of the building, funded through the College’s Foundation, was part of a recent $1.5 million campaign to “bring 21st century learning to its students through state-of-the-art equipment and program enhancement.”

The pods, May continued, are color-coded: orange, blue, green and yellow representing the seasons and include 22 classrooms. Pods are separated by vertical greenhouse style glass structures designed to house ‘winter gardens.

The “science dome,” operational by Fall 2010, will feature a digital projection system, capable not only of planetarium-style shows, but also views such as the interior of a cell, as a way to understand the inner workings of that cell.

Across the hillside are the decayed remains of last year’s scotch broom, in process of being removed and being replanted, through a University of Washington Restoration Ecology Network project. For several months, UW students have been removing scotch broom and Himalayan blackberries and replanting the area with Garry Oaks.

May says it is the college’s hope that students and teachers from surrounding schools, as well as members of the public, attend some of the science shows. Facilities also will be available for local high school and middle schools. May said that PC students will develop digital shows that also will be shown in the science dome. A long-term “dream” is to build an observatory nearby, May adds.

Donors interested in supporting the science dome may consider purchasing a chair. For a $500 donation, an engraved plaque, honoring the donor, can be placed on one of the science dome auditorium’s chairs.

For more information about the chairs, contact Paula Henson-Williams; Pierce College Foundation at 864-3229. Check the latest Pierce College catalog for more information about course offerings.

A second building, The PC Performing Arts Center, at the college’s South Hill Campus, is expected to be completed later this summer, said Henson-Williams. Commemorative chairs for that facility also may be purchased. To view the approximately 60,000 sq. ft. facility, visit www.pierce.ctc.edu/foundation/campaigns/learning/