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Los Angeles City College Student Union, Los Angeles CCD
Los Angeles, CA
Diversity and community.
Flagship sustainable landmark.
Thermal mass and night flush cooling
The LEED Gold Student Union at Los Angeles City College is a multi-story landmark celebrating diversity and community; a flagship facility that is sustainable, timeless and celebratory of the campus Hollywood history and legacy. The program supports these goals by including an extensive range of services, organizations and multi-use interior and exterior spaces for student and community activities and interaction. The building is highly energy efficient— using its concrete structure as thermal mass which combined with night flushing minimizes the use of the HVAC system. It takes great advantage of functional daylighting by employing large north facing glass walls, shaded south windows, and extensive skylights.
Results
The project was honored with a Los Angeles Architectural Award in 2014, and a Western Pacific Region Excellence Award in 2011 from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA).
Exposed concrete structure used to increase thermal mass delaying heat absorption and reducing cooling loads.
Night flush cooling takes advantage of moderate evening temperatures to discharge the heat energy built up during the day in the thermal mass of the building.
Designed to maximize daylighting placing large expanses of glass to the north and using north-facing skylights and clerestory windows.
Building generates electricity via roof-top photo-voltaic panels.
Stormwater systems designed to reduce surface runoff capture rainwater.
Designed for flexibility, the structure under the lower roof was designed to anticipate future expansion upward.
Native and adaptive plantings were used to reduce outdoor water use
Flagship sustainable landmark.
Los Angeles City College Student Union, Los Angeles CCD
Los Angeles, CA
PROJECT DATA
Diversity and community.