San Diego Continuing Education’s new North City Campus achieved LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The $44.9-million building, designed by local firm Joseph Wong Design Associates, is one of 43 projects in the San Diego Community College District that have been awarded or are tracking certification.
The North City Campus, which is officially named the Campus of Excellence for Business and Information Technology for San Diego Continuing Education, is a 42,000-square-foot facility completed in August 2013 that houses classrooms, computer labs, multipurpose areas, and administrative offices. San Diego Continuing Education is one of California’s first community college continuing education institutions to receive independent accreditation.
The facility includes an open-air courtyard that provides daylighting. Operable windows for natural ventilation with automatic sensors shut down mechanical units when windows are open, exceeding California’s energy-efficiency standards by 35 percent. Low-E glazing on exterior windows lets daylight indoors while limiting glare and further reducing energy demand.
Additional features help reduce water consumption. They include a green roof for filtering rainwater and aiding in drainage while minimizing the building’s heat-island effect; an on-site drywell to treat storm runoff; and low-flow plumbing fixtures that reduce water use by more than 30 percent compared to standard fixtures.
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