BBS completes new SCCC Observatory

BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers has completed the new astronomical observatory at the Suffolk County Community College's (SCCC) Selden Campus. The observatory is located atop the Smithtown Science Building. BBS served as the project's architect, interior designer, and MEP engineer. It is one of only five observatories in Suffolk County and, with a 20.5' in diameter dome, it is one of the largest. "The observatory was originally to be a part of the SCCC's new $26 million Life Sciences Building, currently under construction, also designed by BBS," said BBS principal Roger Smith, AIA, LEED AP. "However, the design team and the college decided that the Smithtown building provided a more advantageous location, as the highest point of the Selden campus. This revision accelerated the completion of the observatory." The observatory's 25' high, gray-colored motorized structure by Ash-Dome sits atop the existing brick, steel-frame Smithtown Science Building, which is the highest point on campus. Ysrael Seinuk, P.C. served as structural engineer for the observatory. The metal panels were manufactured by Litsco Streamline Panels. They are approximately 14 ft. long, lightweight, and corrugated and are painted to match the gray of the dome. The second level features a grate floor. The steel pier on which the telescope sits is anchored with diagonal braces to the steel pedestal, which is 12" in diameter and filled with sand to dampen vibrations. The observatory is 700 s/f, or 350 s/f on each of two levels. It includes circular internal stairs from the entrance level to the telescope deck level. In total, the observatory cost $270,000. SCCC president Dr. Shaun L. McKay said, "This is a fantastic new addition to our college that will provide research opportunities for faculty and astronomy majors, as well as enhance our college's reputation in the scientific community, while educating the public about astronomy through public outreach." BBS director of architecture, Joseph Rettig, AIA, LEED AP, said, "The design team had to extend four of the original columns in the Smithtown building three ft. above the former roof level and calculate the load to support the new metal deck pedestal that forms the bottom of the new observatory. Once the four columns were extended, beams were put on top of them to form a square pedestal. Onto this pedestal went a heavy-gauge metal stud structure that serves as a base for the dome." "The dome was prefabricated and came to the campus in sections, to be assembled on site and lifted to its perch by crane," said Rettig. It is a self-supported structure made of GALVALUME, a carbon steel sheet coated with aluminum-zinc alloy by a continuous hot-dip process that provides the barrier corrosion protection of aluminum with the galvanic protection of zinc. The dome and the entire new structure had to be fairly light so as not to put excessive load on the existing building. Both the entire dome and the viewing shutter are automated. The observatory features a Meade 10" RCX400 Ritchey-Chretien telescope. The telescope has a resolving power of 0.45 arc seconds, which is equivalent of being able to see a dime a little more than five miles away. It is connected to a computer that allows partial operation from remote locations. Full networking and remote operation are planned for the near future. It can also be operated by electronic hand controls and is equipped with software that accesses a catalog of coordinates for 145,000 celestial objects. The telescope's primary mirror features ultra-high transmission coatings to help increase light transmission by 20 percent, making objects brighter, and is mounted to a 12-foot-tall cylindrical metal pier that is filled with sand to dampen vibrations. Those using the telescope can also record what they are seeing through the college's CCD Camera equipped with filters that meet astronomical research standards. BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers Headquartered in Patchogue, NY and established in 1975, BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers is a leading Long Island and NY/NJ/CT Tri-state area designer of sustainable educational, commercial, institutional, public and athletic facilities. The firm designed the first LEED-certified public school in New York State, the Hampton Bays Middle School in Hampton Bays, NY, which received a LEED Silver certification as well as the 2012 Green Ribbon School designation from the White House and the U.S. Department of Education. Over the last decade, BBS has designed educational facilities valued at $1.6 billion. The firm's services include architecture, interior design and landscape architecture as well as civil, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering. BBS' current and recent work includes the new 60,000-square-foot Life Sciences Building at the Suffolk County Community College Ammerman Campus in Selden, N.Y., which is targeting LEED Gold certification; the 100-room Hyatt Place East End hotel in Riverhead, N.Y.; Long Island University's $1.6-million Mullarkey Hall renovation in Brookville, N.Y.; the $78-million Riverhead Central School District Capital Program in Riverhead, N.Y.; the new, three-story, 25,500-square-foot addition at the Southampton Elementary School in Southampton, N.Y.; the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery Administrative Building in Coram, N.Y.; the 24,000-square-foot Brown's Fiat dealership in Medford, N.Y.; and the new Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in North Merrick, N.Y. Suffolk County Community College Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) is the largest community college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, enrolling approximately 27,000 students at its three campuses in Selden, Brentwood and Riverhead. SCCC offers the Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), and Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees, as well as a variety of certificate programs. Offering affordable college tuition, a highly respected Honors program, extensive extracurricular activities, championship athletic teams, and numerous transfer programs, SCCC is a first-choice college for Long Island students. Visit us online at sunysuffolk.edu.