Tiger the Teacher

Golfing Great's Foundation Funds New School

By Kathy Lee Scott

Construction was just completed on a school in Anaheim, where local youngsters will be introduced to careers in math, sciences and language arts. Tiger Woods' foundation contributed $5 million toward construction costs. The center is adjacent to a public golf course where the golfing great played as a youth.

Not only do the school's windows generate electricity, but the 60 solar roof panels provide an average 6.7 kW for the building's electrical needs, which equates to 8,000 kW annually (photo by Kathy Lee Scott).

The $7.1-million Tiger Woods Learning Center opened in Anaheim in January to students and pupils from nearby schools.

It all started in 2002 when professional golfer Tiger Woods contributed $5 million toward building a new Anaheim-based learning center dedicated to helping youngsters improve their lives through education.

The 29-year-old golfer attributed part of his success to teachers who took time to help him when he attended Western High School in Anaheim, and he once said in an interview that he wanted "to give kids the same opportunities I had."

"Tiger wanted the learning center in an urban, high-density area that needed a youth program," said Jin Thatcher, director of strategic planning of the Los Alamitos-based Tiger Woods Foundation, which spearheaded the project. The targeted audience is under-served youths who have high potential to succeed but don't have the resources to develop that potential, she added.

Seventh- through 12th-grade students from Anaheim Union High School District and fourth- through sixth-grade pupils from the Anaheim City and Magnolia school districts can attend free sessions at the center and use state-of-the-art equipment. The after-school and between-semester programs introduce youngsters to various careers in mathematics, science and language arts. There's also golf.

The Tiger Woods Foundation hired Snyder Langston of Irvine as the general contractor for the 34,000-sq.-ft. center that has a basement and a stadium-style, 200-seat auditorium. The project architect was Los Angeles-based Langdon Wilson.

Behind the two-story structure is a 250-yd. driving range and putting area, both designed by Tom Fazio of Fazio Golf Course Designers Inc. of Jupiter, Fla. Down Crescent Avenue from the center will be a 10-acre, 6-hole, 3-par golf course, Thatcher said.

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The center sits adjacent to the public H.G. "Dad" Miller Golf Course, where Woods perfected his swing while living in nearby Cypress.

Eldrick "Tiger" Woods has won 62 tournaments since becoming a professional golfer in August 1996, 46 of them on the PGA Tour. He is considered the career victories leader among active players on the PGA Tour and the career money list leader.

Before he went pro, Woods shot 48 for nine holes at age 3, and Golf Digest featured him when he was 5. His amateur record includes winning the Optimist International Junior tournament six times between ages 8 and 15, plus three U.S. Amateur titles.

Once the foundation took on the center project, it searched for a Southern California site. Orange County officials claimed they had the perfect location - the Miller golf course in Anaheim, Thatcher said.

The project required relocation of three holes at the public golf course, for which the foundation hired Forsgren Associates Inc. of Salt Lake City.

Three entities were involved in constructing the learning center: Orange County, Anaheim and the nonprofit Tiger Woods Foundation. For the next 50 years, the foundation leases the 14-acre site from the county for $1 per year.

An Energy-generating Curtain Wall

The city paid to install solar-powered features in the structure. And the foundation funds the staff and programs offered at the facility. It also raises money for the center's construction and maintenance.

When the city public utilities department learned about the project in 2001, "we approached the developer about including some energy-efficient features," said Mike Ebbing, spokesperson for the Anaheim Public Utilities Department. The city contributed $767,000 for both the solar features and to bring the facility 25 percent above current Title 24 standards (California building codes), he added.

The 50-panel, 26- by 33-ft. glass curtain wall-the first in California designed by Solar Design Associates of Harvard, Mass.-will produce 3,800 kW of energy per year (photo by Kathy Lee Scott).

An energy-generating glass curtain wall that lines the southwestern side of the two-story auditorium "seemed a natural spot for a solar-powered feature, as well as putting solar panels on the roof," Ebbing said.

The ground floor includes a 675-sq.-ft. kitchen, 3,175-sq.-ft. student lounge, 1,390-sq.ft. multimedia laboratory and the 3,023-sq.-ft. auditorium. A 1,769-sq.-ft. lobby provides visitors and students with educational kiosks about renewable energy sources, as well as informational videos on six, 45-in. plasma screens.

The second floor holds one 820-sq.-ft. and five 750-sq.-ft. classrooms jutting off a 2,900-sq.-ft. computer/study lounge. A seventh, 850-sq.-ft. classroom overlooks the rear patio, sandy putting area and driving range. Each classroom will have its own 45-in. plasma screen, Thatcher said.

The foundation invested in an all-steel building to avoid mold problems, she said. "Because this is probably going to be our only major project, we built it to last." Thatcher said the foundation plans to build no other similar facility.

"We used heavy steel, exposed brace framing with light-gauge steel studs," said Mike Hazo, Snyder Langston's project manager. "The second floor and roof were metal decks with a poured slab," he added.

The entire structure is wired for high-tech and wireless equipment. Trillion Digital Communications of Austin, Tex., provided the wireless system with 17 access points and Sante Fe Springs-based CSI Electrical Contractors Inc. installed them.

Also notable is the energy-producing 50-panel, 26- by 33-ft. glass curtain wall. As the first in California designed by Solar Design Associates of Harvard, Mass., it will produce 3,800 kW per year, said E. Robert Erb, project manager from Solar Design.

The photovoltaic, or PV, cells are made of photo-active materials, such as silicon, that are vacuum-deposited in thin-film layers on the thick, heat-strengthened glass surface. Several of the micron-thick films are laid down to increase the electricity production.

Then a collecting wire is attached and funneled through a mullion in the frame, said Ray Wenner, field supervisor from CSI.

The curtain wall's 50 panels are graduated so the ones in the top row produce 72 watts each and those in the bottom rows, 60 watts.

Additionally, light transmission through the PV films ranges from 5 percent at the top to 25 percent at the bottom. There are five rows of 10 panes each above a row of clear windows in the curtain wall.

"The glass panels have a smoky look," Erb said. The panels were manufactured by Schott Solar of Germany and are UL rated.

Not only do the windows generate electricity, but the 60 solar roof panels provide an average 6.7 kW for the building's electrical needs, which equates to 8,000 kW annually, Erb said.

PowerLight Corp. of St. Helena made the non-traditional panels.

They lie flat on a white cool, flat roof, another feature to reduce energy use. While the white color reflects heat, the single-ply polyvinyl chloride, or PCV, roof also covers two, 2-in. thick, plastic foam sub-roof layers, said Pierre Bouchard, project superintendent from Snyder Langston. Both elements lower the need to heat or cool the interior.

In addition, the center contains energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning and lighting systems, as well as double-pane glazing and increased insulation.