Shop Talk: A Restoration for Sather Gate, an Energy Guru in San Diego, and Growth for Anna Maria College

Sather Gate, at the U. of California at Berkeley, will be renovated. (U. of California image)

Gateway project: The University of California at Berkeley will dismantle and restore Sather Gate, the famous entryway to the campus. According to a release from the university, students discovered the deterioration of the gate last year while decorating it for a homecoming celebration. The 100-year-old gate has become an icon for college life, in part for the rallies and protests held in its shadow in the 1960s and 70s. (A huge black-and-white picture of Sather Gate from that era greets visitors to The Chronicle’s Washington office.)

Energy guru: The University of California at San Diego has hired Byron Washom as director of strategic energy initiatives. Mr. Washom had set a record in 1984 for efficiency of solar-energy conversion — a record that stood until last year, when it was broken by Sandia National Laboratories. San Diego announced earlier this year that it is embarking on various innovative renewable energy projects that will produce more than seven megawatts of energy for the university.

Bigger footprint for a small college: Anna Maria College, in Massachusetts, has recently finished its master planning process, which covers development on the campus in coming years. The college plans to add five new residence halls, new academic facilities, and a new chapel, and renovate a number of buildings. The plan will double the footprint of the college, but officials say that they will grow the college in a green way that improves walkways through the campus. Sasaki Associates led the planning process.

Anna Maria College will double the size of its campus footprint, but the college will try to do it in a green way. (Anna Maria College image)