Cool Campus to Open
In Point Loma, a new campus for continuing education would put our old classrooms to shame.
By R. STICKNEY
Updated 8:26 AM PST, Wed, May 6, 2009
Think back to classrooms when we were growing up. The lack of air conditioning alone would be considered cruel and unusual punishment for children these days.
In Point Loma, a new campus for continuing education would put old classrooms to shame.
The money from construction bonds paid for the new a new campus – designed with recycled materials in mind.
West City Campus will celebrate its opening Wednesday, May 6, showing off the two-story building that is San Diego Continuing Education’s newest teaching/learning facility.
Nearly 39,000 square feet, the $18 million campus was designed to be Continuing Education’s “Campus of Excellence” for Hospitality and Consumer Science.
In addition to housing one of the best Culinary Arts kitchens in all of San Diego for teaching, learning and demonstration, West City’s technology-rich, state-of-the-art classrooms are especially designed to teach and enhance students’ skills in Sewing, Fashion Business Information Technology, English for non-native English Speakers, Parenting Education, Arts and
Emeritus Program.
Here are just a few of the features making this construction eco-friendly:
- Low E-rated windows and solar tubes help maximize natural daylighting, reducing energy demands on cooling and artificial lighting. Sensors automatically dim lights in response to available lighting.ls.
- Low-flow and waterless plumbing fixtures reduce water consumption by over 40% as compared to a standard building, saving an estimated 386,000 gallons of water per year.
- Economizer units on the roof will circulate fresh outside air into the building. Low-fume emitting paint, adhesives and carpeting, along with automatic CO2 monitors help maintain good indoor air quality.
- Sorting and recycling the construction waste diverted about 90% of the project’s construction waste – approximately 200 tons – from the local landfills. This included grinding the concrete foundations and parking lot from the old buildings to reuse as base under the new building.
- A high percentage of new construction materials are made from recycled materials. This includes
- countertops made from recycled newsprint, fences made from recycled plastics, and play surfaces made from recycled tires.
- The use of porous concrete in the parking lots serves as a storm water management tool, minimizing runoff to the San Diego Bay and River.
The project was funded by the $1.5 billion Propositions S and N construction bond program, which provides for new instructional facilities, major renovations and infrastructure projects at City, Mesa and Miramar Colleges as well as six Continuing Education campuses.
First Published: May 5, 2009 2:59 PM PST
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