Located on the Arizona State University Tempe campus, five-acres of LOT 59 is now covered with an innovative civic-scaled structure that generates over 2.2 MW (megawatts) of electricity while providing shaded relief from the desert sun for roughly 800 vehicle parking spaces that are used by students and fans of ASU athletics. The project, constructed entirely of galvanized steel members in order to ensure a long and maintenance-free life, creates an armature that supports over 7,600 Photo-Voltaic modules. A field of slender steel columns and “graphic wrapped” structural steel brace-frames provide an important infrastructure for lighting, marketing graphics and advertising.

The cluster of four separate 57,000 square foot structures, meet the undulating campus ground plane via a connection to a “horizon” datum of cast-in-place concrete piers and bases, providing an important grounding visual effect to the steel structure and, at the same time, the vital protection of the structure from vehicles.

The combination of providing this pavilion of shade at an elevation of more than 25-feet above the ground and utilizing a tuned layout of the solar modules which permits approximately 30% of dappled daylight to filter through the structure, has enabled the structure to take on a civic function; it is an important anchor for large events such as the 2012 Ironman Competition and other local marathons. The usefulness of this type of space for the University and the community at large is being discovered more and more daily.

Material Used :

1. SOLAR PANEL – Yingli Solar 280 P-35b
2. GATE HARDWARE – Von Duprin
3. LANDSCAPE - Green Screen
4. LIGHTING – Amerillum A-XP T5 laminare