Replacing three 1967 buildings on the Spokane Falls Community College campus, this new 70,000-square-foot, three-story structure features two wings – each housing a separate department – connected by a light-filled three-story atrium lobby space. With equality between the Business and Social Science departments being a prime driver for the classroom spaces, the west (campus) façade is a rhythm of eight learning lanterns. Each lantern is composed of two stacked classrooms with a floor-to-ceiling thermal buffer wall maximizing the daylight entering the classrooms and creating a visual connection to the campus while also providing an insulating air space to minimize the heat gain and loss through the large expanse of glazing. The vertical concrete organizational members throughout the exterior are direct connections to the existing campus language, maintaining the continuity of the established rhythm.Fulfilling the college’s re-focused desire to create student-gathering spaces, multiple study areas are scattered throughout the floors and around the exterior. To promote the inclusion of features that minimize environmental impact and maximize energy efficiency, the facility is on track to receive LEED Gold certification. The sn-w’ey’-mn Building earned LEED Gold certification, making it the first community college building in Washington state to attain this status as well as the first LEED building constructed on a Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS) campus.Initially called the Business and Social Science Building, the facility was formally named the sn-w’ey’-mn Building to honor the Salish-speaking people who historically lived in this region in an environmentally sustainable manner. sn-w’ey’-mn is a Native American word in the Salish language that means a trading place for knowledge, materials, trades and commercial goods. The major artwork of the building is focused on the theme of commerce, tying together the two departments that will be housed in the building: Social Sciences and Business. Commerce was a mainstay of the regional tribes who traded extensively among themselves and with the coastal tribes. This name recognizes the importance of commerce as it existed for thousands of years among regional tribes.A sample of sustainable attributes includes:• 40% reduction in water usage• 90% of regularly occupied spaces have direct line of sight to exterior window• 75% of regularly occupied spaces have minimum daylight factor of 2%• 95% of construction waste diverted from landfills• Red light/green light system in office corridors indicates whether or not to open windows without interfering with the building mechanical system• MDF, bamboo, linoleum and recycled carpet are primary interior materials• Building is operating for 2 years on wind-generated power• Aggregate in terrazzo floors quarried from Chewelah, radiant heat below in lobby• Concrete manufactured in Spokane Valley• Masonry veneer manufactured in Mica, Washington