Project Data:

Firm Name:              Perkins Eastman Dougherty

Completion Date:     7/28/2017

Square Footage:      5548

Building Use:           Recycling Center and Education

Location:                 Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Building #122, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Project Description:

This community college Recycling Center, founded in 1972, is funded by the Associated Students and is student-staffed, providing a holistic learning environment and servicing campus and community recycling needs. Programs in business, food service, horticulture, art, architecture and landscape architecture are integrated into a multidisciplinary curriculum with hands-on learning and research, leading the way to a sustainable future.

LEED Gold Certification, Savings by Design Certification, the pursuit of SITES Certification, and current Net Zero monitoring exceeds the original intent of LEED Silver. Solar panels generate 4 times the net energy of the building, with excess power back-fed into the campus. Real-time measurements are streamed through a flat-screen monitor in the building’s lobby.

Coordinated systems achieve 58% energy efficiency over code. Power ties into the main electrical service and is supplemented by a south facing solar voltaic array. A VRF system with heat recovery and zonal controls provides HVAC. An energy recovery ventilator tempers outside air with cool interior air, reducing energy needs to cool outside air. Efficient fan coil units tuck behind acoustical clouds in a resource-efficient open-ceiling. External circulation for service canopies limits conditioned space requirements. A north orientation contributes natural daylight with less heat gain. Sky lights and Solatubes with photocell sensors and automatic dimming lessen lighting requirements. LED lighting with dimming capabilities provides task lighting.

A high-performance building envelope includes fully-grouted CMU walls, steel frame and deck, R-30 rigid roof insulation, R-25 batt wall insulation with a thermal break, a Resysta rain screen system, and insulated double glazing with a thermal break. Building materials are locally manufactured with high recycled content. Plumbing fixtures are water efficient.

Vehicular and pedestrian traffic are segregated for safety. The former 14 car parking lot, with cars backed-up onto a busy arterial, is replaced with 49 new parking spaces. A secure separation now exists between the front community areas and the “back of house” work areas with trucks, crushers, bailers, and recycled product warehousing.

The existing facility remained operational during construction to avoid requirements for interim housing. Once the new facility was occupied, deconstruction of the former site left an electrical connection to re-purpose the property as illuminated grounds storage with pervious paving. Storm runoff is collected, filtered, and introduced as clean water back into the aquifer. California native planting with drip irrigation is being developed by a student horticulture project in partnership with the college’s culinary and hospitality programs.

An efficient floor plan minimizes circulation square footage. A public entrance leads to a day lit reception area, work space and conference room with acoustic isolation while retaining light and views through translucent walls with recycled plastic bottles in stud wall cells to provide interior privacy and color. Private/secure spaces include the Director’s Office, collections and finance. Staff work areas including the lounge/workroom; showers, lockers and restrooms open directly to the rear entrance for “back of house” access. A “garage” provides charging stations for electric vehicles and securely houses electrical panels for solar arrays. An outdoor work area supports trucking pick-up/delivery, crushers and balers, and storage for bales, crushed materials, mulch and recyclable electronics.

The US Green Building Council is supportive of this project as a demonstration to the community of the power of sustainability. The design intent embraces the cultural role of the Recycling Center as a symbol of community-based sustainability. This new teaching tool extends beyond the borders of the community college campus and into the greater community at large.

C.O.T.E. | Committee on the Environment

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