Continuing Education at Mesa College

7350, Armstrong Place, San Diego, CA, United States

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Continuing Education at Mesa College

7350, Armstrong Place, San Diego, CA, United States

Firm

SGPA Architecture and Planning

Type

Educational › Elementary School University Other

YEAR

2012

SIZE

25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

BUDGET

$10M - 50M

The Continuing Education campus is a LEED Silver, 2-story continuing education facility located on the Mesa College Campus in San Diego, California. The project consists of approximately 38,500 square feet of new space to serve the continuing education departments of English as a Second Language, Parent/Child, Emeritus and Disability Support Programs and Services. The project incorporates both strategic passive cooling and natural lighting strategies to help reduce the building energy usage. Current energy calculations anticipate exceeding California's stringent energy requirements by more than 43%. The solution harnesses local prevailing winds to create a unique negative pressured, double storied corridor that draws air from each of the spaces served by the corridor. This is done through wind scoop features and the indoor/outdoor stair wells, which capture the prevailing winds through sections of perforated metal panel. Users in each space can choose to participate in the natural ventilation scheme by operating the windows via a switch on a wall. the switch engages the mechanically operated windows on both the exterior and interior sides. When the windows are open, the HVAC systems disengage, and the air pressure in the corridor begins drawing air through the windows. When closed, the HVAC re-enagages, allowing for mechanical heating or cooling. This system allows users to select their cooling system and challenges users to consider what their acceptable thermal comfort range is. Since outdoor temperatures in San Diego are within the acceptable comfort range for much of the year, significant savings are expected.The classrooms are designed to not only provide abundant natural light, but also increased casework storage capacity, using 'plan projections' to shade windows on floors below and provide a light shelf for the windows above.The architecture responds to the contemporary campus architecture with a modular paneled building exterior, using Hardie Panel, Stainless Steel Perforated Metal Panel, and Prestige Panels from AEP Span. Entrances and vertical circulation combine their sustainable features with a strong sense of entry. Large opening entrances diminish the line of distinction between interior and exterior spaces, maximizing the use of the outdoor environment for congregating and student interactions. The Main Entrance, Parent/Child, and Multi-Purpose Room spaces all have large garage-style doors that open directly onto exterior spaces.The project's natural ventilation design provides a unique response to local climate while still functioning within California's stringent code requirements and a review by California's Department of the State Architect.Photographs by Mike Torrey Photography