New Skills Center awarded a LEED Gold Certification for Sustainable Design

Certification is third Gold for San Diego Community College District facility;

includes high efficiency fixtures and plumbing, solar paneling

SAN DIEGO – The new Educational Cultural Complex Skills Center for San Diego Continuing Education has been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED) Gold Certification for sustainable and green design by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).  The USGBC is an organization that encourages and promotes sustainable, efficient and healthy building design and operation.  The Skills Center, which opened in September 2009 as the District’s Campus of Excellence for Career and Technical education, is the District’s fifth facility to be LEED certified and third to achieve LEED Gold. 

The 67,010 square foot facility supports instructional and career training programs in Automotive Technology, Automotive Mechanical and Electrical Repair, Automotive Body Repair, Automotive Upholstery, Graphic Printing Technology, Computer Graphic Arts, Cisco Lab, Business Information Technology and Welding.  It is the largest automotive technology training center of its kind in the country.

The Skills Center is funded by the District’s $1.555 billion Propositions S and N construction bond program, which is providing for new teaching and learning facilities, major renovations, and campus wide infrastructure projects at City, Mesa, and Miramar Colleges, and six Continuing Education campuses throughout San Diego.  As part of the Green Building Policy developed by the SDCCD Board of Trustees, all construction and major renovations included in the bond program are designed and built to obtain, at minimum, LEED Silver certification. 

“We are really pleased to exceed the Board’s policy by seeing our buildings qualify at an even higher level,” said Dr. Constance Carroll, SDCCD Chancellor.  “The Skills Center is a tremendous job-training facility, and we are delighted that it now has reached the Gold standard in sustainable design.”

The building’s sustainable features include:

• Aphotovoltaic panel array (360 panels at 185 watts each) on the complex carports, generating a total of 66.6 kW.  A web-based computer monitoring system allows users and visitors to see exactly how much solar energy is generated at any given time.

• The orientation of the complex was designed to maximize both daylight and views to the outside.  Daylight will be available to 90% of the space, which increases user comfort and reduces the need for artificial lighting.  Views to the outdoors will be available for 95% of the spaces, improving user comfort and productivity in the learning environment. 

• High efficiency plumbing fixtures reduce water consumption by over 40% as compared to a standard building. High efficiency fixtures reduce the amount of electricity used.

• Indoor air quality is optimized through the use of natural ventilation, carbon dioxide monitors, low chemical-emitting materials and finishes, and walk-off mats to control dirt from entering the building.

• Trees and shrubs have been selected for their compatibility to the area, to provide shade and to minimize the need for water. A high efficiency irrigation system utilizes a controller that adjusts itself to the local weather.

• A sustainable education program will be implemented so that building itself can be used as a teaching tool on the benefits of sustainable design.

• Exterior lighting is carefully placed to minimize light pollution to nearby residences.

The Skills Center project team included:

• Architect: NTD Architecture
• Construction Manager: O’Connor Construction Management
• General Contractor: Jaynes Corp.
• Landscape Architect:  Nowell & Associates
• Proposition S and N Program Manager: Gafcon, Inc.
• Continuing Education Campus Project Management:  Scott Ellis, Julia Parker, URS Corp.
• DGP (LEED consulting and commissioning services)

The District’s other LEED-certified projects include:

• Mesa College Police Station  (Gold)
• West City Campus for Continuing Education  (Gold)
• City College Learning Resource Center (LRC)  (Silver)
• Miramar College Hourglass Park Field House  (Certified)