Tucker points out that Caltrans’ employees are very interested in conserving energy on an organizational and personal level. “Caltrans installed 46 bike lockers at this site, most of which are in use by the employees. A significant percentage of employees use alternate means of transportation, including carpools, vanpools, the Coaster train and San Diego Trolley. The trolley and train have a stop across the street. Caltrans also has an active telecommute program with about 70 regular participants.”

COLLABORATION
Johnson and Holakiewicz stress that this project would not have been a success had it not been for the collaboration with the state of California; Caltrans; the Old Town community; general contractor, La Jolla, Calif.-based Clark Construction Group LLC; and others. The team held design charrettes before and during design to ensure all parties involved in the project would be happy with the outcome.

An example of the collaboration is the complex’s 19.7-kilowatt photovoltaic system atop what is known as the Grand Trellis. Although the PV installation garnered a $56,000 rebate, it still exceeded the project budget. “From the architects’ point of view, the Grand Trellis is a significant, iconic gesture that ties the three office buildings together, as well as provides shading for a majority of the campus and the public space underneath,” Johnson notes. “However, I’m not sure keeping the trellis was cost driven by the state as much as it was a gesture to embrace green design.” (For more information about California’s sustainability initiative for state office buildings, see “The Golden State Goes Green,” below.) By maintaining the trellis and PV, the sun provides about 1 percent of energy for the Caltrans complex, or 37,716 kWh per year, which is enough energy to power five households. In addition, by using the sun’s energy rather than fossil-fuel energy, 50,197 pounds (22769 kg) of carbon dioxide, 16 pounds (7 kg) of nitrous oxide and 103 pounds (47 kg) of sulphur oxide are kept from entering the atmosphere each year.

The Caltrans District 11 headquarters opened ahead of schedule on March 29, 2006. Holakiewicz says meeting the timeframe is a great credit to the contractor, as well as team collaboration. “It would be very easy for one group to cause issues, but everyone worked together to come up with the solutions,” he says. “As an architect, obviously I want a building to be functional in terms of its program and sustainable in term of its energy use, but when you exceed that and create something that is positive for its neighborhood and users enjoy working there, it affects the culture of the business and that’s very rewarding.”

ENERGY USAGE AT CALTRANS DISTRICT 11
Based on energy usage from San Diego-based Caltrans District 11 headquarters’ utility statements, the complex is operating at 13.4 kilowatt hours per square foot per year. According to data provided by the California Center for Sustainable Energy, San Diego, similar buildings in the San Diego area operate at approximately 19.2 kWh per square foot per year. The complex also is operating below average in respect to natural-gas consumption for San Diego. It consumes approximately 8.62 kBtu per square foot per year. Other San Diego buildings consume about 36.19 kBtu per square foot per year on average.

THE GOLDEN STATE GOES GREEN
Executive Order S-20-04 established California’s Green Building Initiative, not to be confused with the Portland, Ore.-based organization of the same name. California’s GBI requires state buildings to reduce energy usage by 20 percent by 2015, ultimately reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by 551,156 tons (500000 metric tons) by 2010 and 2 million tons (1.8 million metric tons) by 2020. To meet the goals, California is mandating its state buildings achieve Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification, existing state buildings must be retrocommissioned and retrofit, leased state facilities must be energy efficient, etc. Currently, Caltrans District 11 headquarters is seeking LEED for Existing Buildings certification, which is required for all existing buildings larger than 50,000 square feet (4645 m2) under the Executive Order. To learn more about California’s GBI, visit http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/dgs/pio/facts/Green%20Building%20Initiative%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf.

GREEN TEAM

• OWNER / California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, www.dot.ca.gov
• CLIENT / Department of General Services, West Sacramento, Calif., www.dgs.ca.gov
• ARCHITECT / Carrier Johnson, San Diego, www.carrierjohnson.com
• GENERAL CONTRACTOR / Clark Construction Group LLC, La Jolla, Calif., www.clarkconstruction.com
• STRUCTURAL ENGINEER / John A. Martin & Associates, Los Angeles, www.johnmartin.com
• MECHANICAL ENGINEER / MA Engineers, San Diego, www.ma-engr.com
• ELECTRICAL ENGINEER / Michael Wall Engineering Inc., San Diego, www.mwalleng.com
• CIVIL ENGINEER / Winzler & Kelly Consulting, Santa Rosa, Calif., www.w-and-k.com
• LIGHTING / Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design, Los Angeles, www.hlblighting.com
• LANDSCAPE ARTIST / Wallace Roberts & Todd, San Diego, www.wrtdesign.com

MATERIALS AND SOURCES
• PRECAST CONCRETE / Clark Pacific, Fontana, Calif., www.clarkpacific.com
• EXTERIOR GLASS / Solarscreen from Viracon, Owatonna, Minn., www.viracon.com
• WINDOW SYSTEM / Vistawall, Terrell, Texas, vistawall.com
• COOL ROOF / Sika Sarnafil, Canton, Mass., www.sarnafilus.com
• INSULATION / Johns Manville, Denver, www.jm.com
• PHOTOVOLTAICS / 340 Unisolar from United Solar Ovonic, Auburn Hills, Mich., www.uni-solar.com
• INVERTER / Xantrex, San Diego, www.xantrex.com
• WOOD DOORS / Marshfield DoorSystems, Marshfield, Wis., www.marshfielddoorsystems.com
• HOLLOW METAL DOORS / Security Metal Products Corp., Chandler, Ariz., www.secmet.com
• CEILINGS / USG, Chicago, www.usg.com
• WOOD / Dooge Veneers, Grand Rapids, Mich., www.dev.doogeveneers.com
• PLUMBING FIXTURES / Bobrick Washroom Equipment Inc., Los Angeles, www.bobrick.com, and American Standard, Piscataway, N.J., www.americanstandard-us.com
• PAINTS / Dunn Edwards Paint, Los Angeles, www.dunnedwards.com
• CARPET / Atlas Carpet Mills, Los Angeles, www.atlascarpetmills.com, and Tandus, Dalton, Ga., www.tandus.com
• RUBBER BASE / Roppe Corp. USA, Fostoria, Ohio, www.roppe.com
• VINYL COMPOSITION TILE / Mannington Commercial, Calhoun, Ga., www.mannington.com, and Armstrong Imperial from Armstrong, Lancaster, Pa., www.armstrong.com/flooring
• RUBBER TILE / Atmosphere Kitchen and Bath, New York, www.atmosphereny.com
• QUARRY TILE / Dal-Tile Corp., Dallas, www.daltile.com
• LIMESTONE TILE / Intertile, San Leandro, Calif., www.intertile.com
• CERAMIC TILE / Royal Mosa, Maastricht, The Netherlands, www.royalmosa.com, and Dal-Tile
• SOLID SURFACE / Avonite Surfaces, Florence, Ky., www.avonitesurfaces.com, and Corian, Wilmington, Del., www.dupont.com
• COPPER PANELS / Moz Designs Inc., Oakland, Calif., www.mozdesigns.com
• LEATHER UPHOLSTERY / Edelman Leather, New Milford, Conn., www.edelmanleather.com
• WALL COVERINGS / Designtex from Steelcase, Grand Rapids, www.steelcase.com, and Forbo Industries, Hazleton, Pa., www.forbo.com
• PAVERS / Terra Pavers from Wausau Tile Inc., Rothschild, Wis., www.wausautile.com