Crafton Hills College, San Bernardino Valley College Win Green Building Design Awards
Two SBCCD career-training facilities won the U.S. Green Building Council’s Sustainable Innovation Award
By Kris Lovekin
In Brief:
- The Performing Arts Center at Crafton Hills College and the Technical Education Building at San Bernardino Valley College both won the U.S. Green Building Council’s Sustainable Innovation Award on Dec. 8.
- Both facilities will break ground in 2022. They are funded through voter-approved Measure CC local dollars and state-matching funds.
The U.S. Green Building Council of Los Angeles has recognized two planned buildings in the San Bernardino Community College District as examples of eco-friendly buildings that others should emulate.
The Performing Arts Center at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa and the Technical Education Building at San Bernardino Valley College have won the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC-LA) Sustainable Innovation Award (SIA) for Honor in Energy/Operational Carbon.
The award was presented Wednesday, Dec. 8, at the 17th Annual Green Gala at Union Station in Los Angeles. Both projects will be included in the 2021 EcoMapLA.
“I’m very proud of the work we’re doing to make campus life and our educational facilities environmentally friendly,” said Diana Rodriguez, chancellor of the San Bernardino Community College District. “Our students today are going to be the leaders of tomorrow. We need to be responsible with the world we leave behind for them,” Rodriguez said.
Farrah Farzaneh, SBCCD’s director of facility planning, emergency management, and construction, said the climate is already changing and has led to more wildfires, heatwaves, and other weather extremes.
“Changing to green building design is the best way to lower stress on the planet and ensure a healthy quality of life,” said Farzaneh.
Energy-efficient buildings use new technology to heat and cool the building with rooftop solar, battery storage, and all-electric mechanical systems. They will save money on energy costs over the long haul as the district makes its own solar energy and has to buy less, she said.
Both projects will break ground in 2022. They are funded through a mix of voter-approved Measure CC local dollars and state-matching funds.
Performing Arts Center, Crafton Hills College
Crafton Hills College will build a modern performing arts venue that provides access to the outdoors for light, views, and gathering spaces. Shaded patios, efficient windows, and solar panels will increase energy efficiency inside the 24,000 square foot center.
The center will include a 264-seat proscenium, a smaller black box theater, and backstage facilities such as dressing rooms, green room, offices, storage, scene shop, and costume shop to accommodate a variety of music, theater, and dance performances and events.
The drought-tolerant landscaping of mainly California natives near the electric car charging stations will help the local pollinators.
The budget for the project is $41 million.
Technical Education Building, San Bernardino Valley College
Students will learn modern machining, HVAC installation and repair, water technology, and new electric automotive repairs inside this new building. Their studies will be connected visually and spatially to the outside world as a highly transparent exhibit space.
“We want to demonstrate to the public the dynamic hands-on training that happens inside,” said Farzaneh.
The Technical Education Building will be 108,000 square feet and completed in the summer of 2023. It is intended to qualify as a LEED Gold building. The budget for the building is $107.8 million.
“This design is intended to serve as a living laboratory,” said Farzaneh. It will have interactive digital displays in the lobby to monitor energy, water, and carbon emissions. Right away, the building should save about $26,000 per year on the utility bill, Farzaneh said.
Farzaneh said the dreams of young people inspire her. Recently a teen who takes classes at San Bernardino Valley College earned a prize for her hand-drawn animated film, called “Dreaming of the Deep.”
Darwin Melchiorre, 16, said, “I sometimes feel betrayed by past generations for their neglect of these world-ruining problems that they now seem to think that it is my responsibility to clean up.”
Farzaneh said she wants Melchiorre and other students to know that their voices are being heard and that their college district is working toward that cleaner future.
“We have to act responsibly,” she said.
About San Bernardino Community College District
San Bernardino Community College District serves nearly 15,000 students through Crafton Hills College and San Bernardino Valley College. For nearly 100 years, our colleges have provided access to affordable higher education and career training programs for the residents of Big Bear Lake, Bloomington, Calimesa, Colton, Grand Terrace, Highland, Lake Arrowhead, Loma Linda, Redlands, Rialto, San Bernardino, and Yucaipa. We educate the health care professionals that serve our medical needs, veterans who have served our country, police, and firefighters who keep us safe, and skilled workers who fuel our economy. Beyond our campuses, we inform and inspire learners of all ages through EMPIRE | KVCR, the PBS and NPR affiliate station for the Inland Empire on TV channel 24 and 91.9 FM. www.sbccd.edu
SBCCD Board of Trustees
Dr. Anne L. Viricel, Chair
Dr. Stephanie Houston, Vice Chair
Gloria Macias Harrison, Clerk
Dr. Nathan D. Gonzales, Trustee
John Longville, Trustee
Frank Reyes, Trustee
Joseph Williams, Trustee
Lauren Ashlock, Student Trustee
Elena Sanchez Paez, Student Trustee
Chancellor
Diana Z. Rodriguez
Presidents
Dr. Kevin Horan, Crafton Hills College
Dr. Scott W. Thayer, San Bernardino Valley College (Interim)
