“The Orchard School Library reaches this high level of sustainable design through the use of a high-performance exterior building envelope, interior day lighting, natural ventilation, photovoltaic panels, upgraded mechanical systems, green-certified interior furnishings and finishes, and water-saving plumbing fixtures,” said David Maglaty, senior project designer at HMC Architects. “The completed project results in an eye-catching library that enlivens the entire school, while being a prime example of sustainable design and construction.”

The Library is centrally located at the heart of the campus and connects the elementary and middle schools. Inside, full-height glass brings natural light into the expanded 6,000-SF space. A natural wood screen defines the space and provides boundaries without compromising supervision. The renovated existing space now houses stacks for the 18,000-volume collection, along with a new technology lab for up to 36 students.

The Orchard School Library sustainable savings include:

- More than 30% water use reduction
- The 240KW PV system produced 420,830 kWh annually, which translates to more than 2.5 times of the building energy cost saving. Essentially, this building is more than a “Net-Zero” building; it is an “Energy-Positive” building.
- Reuse over 95% of existing building floors, walls and roof
- Reuse over 50% of existing interior non-structural elements
- More than 95% of construction waste diverted from landfill
- 100% of wood products used are FSC certified wood
- More than 10% recycled content material value
- More than 76% of regularly occupied area with access to daylight
- More than 97% of regularly occupied area with access to views
- Low-emitting materials used throughout project

As part of my role with the Academy of Architecture for Justice, I contributed to the white paper, “Sustainable Justice 2030: Green Guide to Justice.” This white paper is a proposition for the role of the justice system in contributing to the continuing viability of our society. Intended to complement other public initiatives with the year 2030 as the planning horizon, we aim to articulate a vision for how green justice buildings can serve a green and sustainable justice system as a foundational element of a sustainable society. As architects, our planning and design efforts are framed by the vision of our clients; this paper is intended to illustrate a vision for the year 2030 that is holistic and elevated in aspiration to create a more just and sustainable society.

Download the Sustainable Justice 2030: Green Guide to Justice white paper and take the quiz for 1 HSW/SD.

I’m also speaking at the AIA National Convention and Design Exposition next week; click for information on my presentation, Sustainable Justice: Making the Connection with LEED.

The justice system plays a crucial role in sustaining community life by providing services from public safety to dispute resolution. As it currently operates, our justice system falls short of a truly sustainable definition, but it cannot remain the same for long. For our society to sustain itself into the future, we must offer all members of our communities equal access to justice. The location, size, and accessibility of justice facilities are key to making justice services sustainable in terms of people, planet, and prosperity. Each building project is an opportunity to transform the relationship of the justice system to the communities it serves as it becomes more efficient in the use of resources. To encourage innovation in justice facilities, this presentation will include “benchmark” definitions for U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED evaluation criteria that will guide the qualification submittal and review process for prerequisites and LEED points for specific project features; and provide language available to practitioners to communicate sustainable design achievements and establish a precedent for point rewards. The criteria are measured by “doable, verifiable, measurable” design features that may be proved by studies compared to baselines, as determined by subject matter specialists.

Learning Objective:
1.  See how sustainable community-level solutions can be realized for program-intensive, functionally-driven justice building types.
2.  Understand how this systemic approach can enhance sustainable, social justice and economic development opportunities.
3.  Understand problem-solving institutions and how the impact is multiplied when linked into an intentional system.
4.  Learn about the community and justice rating system being developed by the AAJ sustainability committee.

Looking west at the promise of clearing skies, the morning of Saturday, April 14, began with excitement. The rain had subsided just in time for the revitalization project at Kingsley Elementary School. My wife and I were especially excited about this volunteer opportunity for its proximity to where we live (Pomona Arts Colony). Situated in a residential neighborhood, Kingsley Elementary (not to be confused with the one by the same name in Montclair) is at the corner of Lincoln and Washington in Pomona, Calif. Apart from the numerous portables, most of the core campus seemed to be built in the 1950s or 60s, sporting a uniform, flat palette of deep red masonry.

HMC Designing Futures Foundation recruited a great team of enthusiastic volunteers from departments throughout the firm to paint a mural. We gathered that morning alongside an army of people hailing from all over the Inland Empire and beyond. The eagerness to start our labor grew as we heard various administration and staff describe the challenges the school and district faced, including some of the highest drop out rates in the area.

HMC DFF Volunteers

Our journey began by traversing a sea of blacktop, where the start of various projects were staged on the ground. Reaching the campus, we wound our way through rows of buildings that all looked the same. Other projects were being staged on the ground of courtyards and exterior walls.

Hundreds of volunteers turned out to transform Kingsley ES

At last we reached the cafeteria where we all stared at what we would be working on for the rest of the day—an expansive white wall! Upon closer inspection, we were relieved to find small black lines covering the surface that revealed a design. Thankfully, we had a creative director on hand, the mural artist, who would keep us between the lines and advise us on color choices along the way. After hours of brush strokes, stepping back to survey the progress, climbing up ladders with trays of paint, rollers rolling back and forth, and a healthy dose of laughter, a once barren wall came to life!
Our team painted a mural in the cafeteria

The difference when we stepped outside was amazing to behold. Immediately, I felt a stronger sense of place. Once empty walls were now adorned with imagery of the Civil Rights movement, the educational progression up to post-secondary school, literature, and the visual and performing arts. Further, the ominous sea of blacktop was transformed—representations of the seasons, tether ball circles, and an obstacle course now embellished the surface. An unused patch of dirt became the home of raised garden beds filled with young herb and vegetable plants. Looking at the small, delicate green stems and leaves made me think of the kids that would come to school on Monday morning. The colorful, positive imagery that now surrounds these students will hopefully be one of the many things the community does that contributes to a significantly brighter future for them.
The completed mural

From left to right: Myself, Israel Pena, and Adrienne Luce

In an effort to operate as efficiently as possible, HMC is pleased to announce two office moves. On April 30, our San Diego studio is relocating within San Diego County and on May 7, the Irvine studio will be joining forces with our Ontario-based teams.

These moves inspire greater collaboration and creativity, while driving financially sound solutions for our clients. The San Diego studio will be increasing its office space by 25% to allow for future growth. The office will go from 38 workstations to 50. The Irvine studio will be joining our 217 person Ontario studio, which will provide the team with greater access to resources and allow for increased collaboration with a focus on K-12 projects.

HMC believes that design can change the world and we look forward to providing the same great work in these new locations.

Effective April 30, 2012:

HMC San Diego
5935 Cornerstone Court, Studio 300
San Diego, CA 92121
(619) 744-4077

Effective May 7, 2012:

HMC Irvine > Ontario
3546 Concours Street
Ontario, CA 91764
(909) 989-9979

The existing J. Paul Leonard Library was constructed in three phases (1953, 1959 and 1971) and contained approximately 287,000 gross square feet of building area on seven floors, including the basement. Since the last expansion more than thirty years ago, the enrollment at SFSU has increased, leaving the existing facility to provide for only 68 percent of the library space required by the growing student population. Furthermore, the building suffered serious inadequacies in the condition of its exterior envelope, where there were numerous leaks that were detrimental to library materials, building occupants, and the building’s HVAC systems. The building’s electrical and telecommunications systems were substandard and inadequate to meet the needs for support of modern electronic information and multimedia systems.

The ground level of the new addition offers spaces for collaboration and social activities.

This design-build team of Balfour Beatty and HMC Architects addressed these issues of required expansion and building renovation, and took advantage of a unique opportunity to create a joint-use library facility with the California State Library’s Sutro Library, which was formerly in temporary facilities on the SFSU campus. By co-locating the two library institutions into one facility, both realize certain economies related to joint use, while the academic and general public patrons more effectively utilize the depth and quality of the collections of each.

Today, through the addition of more than 140,000 square feet, a major expansion and renovation of the J. Paul Leonard Library building has come to completion. Opened in Spring 2012, the new home of the J. Paul Leonard Library incorporates the existing Sutro Library, providing expanded study and computing space for users, growth space for collections, access to new technologies, and a safe and healthy environment for work and study. The new library adds 34 percent more total space; 50 percent more seating; 50 percent more group study areas; 50 percent more collection capacity, both in open stacks and a high-density automated retrieval system; and 100 percent more computers; all while providing a flexible and congenial learning environment in the heart of campus.
With traditional stacks now located in the automated retrieval system, the renovated library now boasts open, collaborative spaces for study.

The glass and Trespa exterior façade is a contemporary expression that creates a geometric patterning.

The second level study zone features a variety of seating options with flexible furniture to accommodate small to large study groups.

The library’s new automated library retrieval system houses over 4 million books, freeing space normally consumed by book stacks for use as study and computing areas. (Photo by Alex Seefeldt.)

View of the north facing façade, where the new sculptural glass addition adds a modern front to the renovated existing library.

All photos by David Wakely unless noted otherwise.

Sustainable highlights include:

• Water Conservation: This facility is designed to use 50.28% less water than a similarly-sized code-compliant building.
• Energy Use Reduction: It uses significantly less energy than a baseline building and much less than the old facility despite its larger size through the use of a Building Energy Management System, daylighting, lighting controls, Energy Star appliances, a cool roof, high-performing glass and an overall high-performing building envelope.
• Green Power: The City has contracted to purchase green, renewable power equal to 100% of the facility’s energy needs for the first two years.
• Construction Waste Management: 95.81% of the waste generated during demolition and construction was diverted from landfills and either recycled or salvaged.
• Recycled Content: The project utilizes building materials and products that are composed of recycled content.
• Regional Materials: Reduced embodied energy: 33.8% of the building materials and products were manufactured regionally (within 500 miles).
• Low-VOC Materials: All adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, and flooring systems specified and installed are certified to have zero- to low-VOC emissions.
• Natural Light: Daylighting strategies were employed in all regularly occupied spaces (multi-purpose, lobby, restrooms, and kitchen).
• Healthy Interiors: Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), green housekeeping, and thermal comfort and monitoring strategies were used to provide a comfortable, productive, and healthy interior space for all occupants.

The four teams of builders and architects are: Clark Construction with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Architects; Hensel Phelps Construction with Yazdani Studio & Gruen Associates; McCarthy with Brooks-Scarpa & HMC Architects; and Mortensen Construction with NBBJ Architects. Read the full article from Los Angeles Downtown News.