UNO Solar Pavilion

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Pact Studios worked with UNMC to create a unique conceptual design.

Pact Studios was presented with an incredibly unique design opportunity: create an outdoor solar pavilion located on the campus of the University of Nebraska - Omaha. The approximately 6,000 square foot solar pavilion is composed of various forms of solar panel installations, an outdoor classroom, walking path, and sustainable landscaping elements, and is designed to provide students with an environmentally friendly gathering, learning, and research space.

The solar panel installations include two solar tracking panel farms, fixed solar panels installed at varying positions on the outdoor classroom canopy (40 degrees, 20 degrees, and 0 degrees) and a Smartflower dual-axis tracker. The solar panels are utilized to collect data, facilitating faculty and student research studies.

The outdoor classroom is composed of a cantilevered roof canopy, raised presentation area, outdoor monitors, limestone seating areas, and landscape planters. A meandering walking path allows access to the outdoor classroom and solar panel installations. The surrounding landscape is composed of sustainable, native plants with educational signage installed throughout. A rain garden is also featured and used to collect run-off from the outdoor classroom canopy, paved surfaces, and surrounding swales.

Visit the Smartflower website for product information here.