 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Business Technology & Math Building, Arts & Humanities Building
The collaborative programming and design process (Esquisse™) engaged by NTD and Miramar College resulted in two primary success factors: creating a facility that contributes to the campus’ architectural unity and allowing sustainable design to define the architectural decision making. The Business Technology and Mathematics Building and The Arts and Humanities Building at San Diego Community College's Miramar campus will house classrooms, office suites, and labs. MIRAMAR COLLEGE PHILOSOPHY The mission of San Diego Miramar College is to prepare students to succeed in a world of dynamic change by providing an environment which values excellence in teaching, learning, innovation and partnerships in a setting that celebrates diversity. San Diego Miramar College is a public, two-year community college administered by the San Diego Community College District. The general education program is designed to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of methods for gaining knowledge in a variety of disciplines and to develop students’ abilities in critical thinking, oral and written communication, and mathematics. BUILDING PROGRAMS The Arts and Humanities Building will house Liberal Arts; Behavior and Social Sciences; English, Communication, and World Languages; Music; and the Learning Communities Classroom. The Learning Communities Classroom acts as a support for all students in Speech, English, ESOL, Spanish, and Tagalog courses. Multiple activities can take place at the same time from collaborative learning to independent study. Students can record and playback their speech as well as use reading software. A flexible tiered classroom is used by both the Department of Music and other departments for lectures and recitals. The first floor of the Business Technology and Mathematics Building will house the Department of Business Technology. The space creates a business community environment for multiple subjects to coexist and share common goals. Classrooms include computers built into the desks (collapsible) and hook-ups for laptops at each working station. The first floor also accommodates a variety of community spaces. The Department of Mathematics on the second floor will include lecture classrooms with smart technology, a mathematics center, offices, a computer-assisted lab, a tutoring area and support spaces. ***“ The new master plan for Miramar College establishes an organizational framework for a future environment which is warm, open and humanly scaled, a vibrant world of higher education which strengthens the mission of elevated thought, preparation for workplace, and lifelong success. The planning, architecture, and landscape design all reflect and respond to the unique qualities of the campus’ ecology, regional history, Mediterranean climate and community as modern translations of these contributing elements. Sustainable design strategies employed throughout demonstrate an educated commitment to the responsible use of the earth’s resources.” Source: Miramar College Master Plan PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN PROCESS The NTD Esquisse™ (a French word meaning “to sketch”) Programming and Design Process provides a record of the thought process, student utilization volumes, assumptions, and consensus opinions that influences the design directions reached during the intensively focused effort. The Esquisse™ provided an inventory of the existing use of the facilities, defined the quantity and type of space needed for expansion of services, analyzed department expansion, and prepared recommendations for modifications to accomplish specific needs identified in the prior strategic planning and master planning process. Defining Goals During the Esquisse™, the goals of the project were defined. They included: • What are critical success factors? • What would make the building programs most successful for the users? • How will faculty and student satisfaction be improved with facility changes? • What can be done to improve employee satisfaction and retention, while attracting new talented staff for employment? • How can the building design support the Campus’ future and strategic plans? • How can the building design support sustainable design principles? • What is the timeframe for the project? What can be done to prioritize projects that are time sensitive? How can we accomplish goals in a time effective manner? • What can be done to identify the short-term and long-term goals of the facility? Establishing Facts The existing parameters of the site and the buildings, including public and service access, traffic flows, parking requirements, and functional operational relationships to other school functions were established. The Miramar campus is bordered by a suburban landscape including Interstate 15, elementary and middle schools, and a newly completed shopping center. At over 98 Acres, the campus has various tree species including mature eucalyptus and mature evergreens. Vegetation communities included wetland/riparian habitats, and upland habitats, including Diegan coastal sage scrub and non-native grassland. The site for the Art and Humanities and Business Technology and Mathematics buildings is the northwest portion of the campus. Identifying Needs The scope of work necessary to meet the strategic goals of the district was defined through interactive work sessions with the key decision makers. NTD met with leaders and users of the departments that will be served by the classroom addition including Arts and Humanities; Social and Behavioral Sciences; English, Communication, and World Languages; Performing Arts; Business, and Mathematics; as well as support and operations including the Dean. NTD documented the types, numbers, sizes and construction of areas and spaces as well as the requirements for parking, circulation, structures, and functional needs including mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems, and utilities. SUCCESS FACTORS The first of the two critical success factors for The Business Technology and Mathematics Building and The Arts and Humanities Building was to create a facility that contributes toward architectural campus unity. This was achieved by relating the two new classroom buildings to the proposed Collegiate Mediterranean aesthetic of the Library Learning Resource Center (LLRC), while still maintaining individual building identity. Rather than creating a building that repeated the style of the LLRC, NTD sought to find a compatible aesthetic that complemented it. To replicate its style would not contribute toward campus unity, but rather would alienate the remaining campus buildings. NTD viewed the project as a bridge between multiple styles that would help them work together as a whole. As well as relating to the LLRC, the two projects were strongly linked to each other, as they were symmetrically sited on either side of the LLRC and the new campus commons. These two classroom buildings have compatible architectural elements, materials, and massing concepts. Though they are not programmatically identical, they appear to belong to each other. Respect was given to the campus master plan, especially concerning view corridors that connect the main north campus entrance and the west parking lot/pedestrian entrance to the tower element within the new campus commons. This axis passes though both buildings, and their entrance lobbies were designed to reflect this connection through the use of transparent structural glass walls and materials that extend from interior to exterior. The second of the success factors was to allow sustainable design to define architectural decision-making. This was achieved by providing a high quality indoor environment with respect to thermal comfort, lighting, and ventilation for students and faculty. This will improve faculty/student satisfaction by providing a comfortable working environment as well as contribute to increased productivity, work quality, and other social benefits. The design also provides for daylight and views. The glazing has been designed around the goal of achieving a minimum daylight factor of 2% in 75% of occupied space. There are views to the exterior for 90% of spaces. After meeting with the building users, it became clear that windows were a high priority to them for the classrooms, offices, and other common spaces. Glare and direct sunlight on critical tasks is reduced through the use of overhangs, light shelves, and the buildings roof form and orientation to the sun. An increase of energy efficiency is accomplished through a reduction of building energy consumption, as well as through the use of passive solar techniques. These will produce significant energy cost savings over the life of the building. Overhangs have been optimized based on orientation and window height on south facing walls. North facing windows and clerestories have been designed to provide indirect natural light. High performance materials are utilized in the building envelope and glazing. Photovoltaic panels are incorporated on the roof as a source of alternative energy. These are highly efficient due to their south facing exposure on the sloped roof areas. These various techniques will also serve to improve the energy conservation awareness of students and faculty. The project will obtain LEED Silver Certification. BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING NTD Architecture utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM) to ensure that The Business Technology and Mathematics Building and The Arts and Humanities Building take advantage of the best design opportunities and to facilitate coordination among the different disciplines. This allowed NTD to incorporate a buildings’ geometries, geographic information, quantities and properties to demonstrate the entire lifecycle of the building process and to view design flaws, conflicts among the different disciplines, and additional design opportunities before the start of construction. Being able to test various project design scenarios prior to the construction of the project ensured that the best possible design opportunities are used. SUMMARY Through the application of NTD’s unique collaborative programming and design process (Esquisse™) and through an integrated design process utilizing Building Information Modeling, the two primary success factors of The Business Technology and Mathematics Building and The Arts and Humanities Building at San Diego Community College's Miramar campus have been achieved. Project Description:
Locale:
Methodology & Standards:
Funding Method(s):
Project Delivery Method(s):
Sustainable/Green Design:
Architect(s):
Associated Firms and Consultants:
Area Map: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| © 2008 Peter Li Education Group | Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions |