#PositiveLastingImpact

With their current emergency operations building about to be decommissioned/demolished, the District decided to build a facility to house the District Emergency Operations Center, and unify the maintenance and operations departments.

The EOC is designed as a resilient hub for operations during times of catastrophe, while doubling as a staff training and conferencing space on a more regular basis. The M&O component of the project will centralize office, shops, work yards, and support spaces for the two departments who are currently scattered across multiple campuses. This project will support collaboration, efficiency, and professional dignity for critical, often overlooked members of District staff.

Evergreen Valley College needed to expand their Police Department while concurrently modernize their Central Plant and Maintenance Operations. The project, totally 13,497 SF, included a complete overhaul of the offices for Maintenance Operations, the expansion of the Police Department’s working space to accommodate their growing personnel needs and the replacement of the Central Plant’s major campus utility systems.

EVC Police and CP MO: The Central Plant facility needed to remain in operation 365 days a year, thus for every decision that was made during the design process, this was kept top-of-mind . During construction, strict guidelines were followed to ensure the operations remained uninterrupted and the change over of systems ultimately affected the least number of users.

Certified LEED® Silver, the concept for this project focused strongly on sustainability –maximizing open space, natural daylight, and ventilation – while satisfying the project’s programmatic needs. A flagship project, it is the first LEED certified building for the District.

Typically separate programs, Math and Arts are brought together in one complex. The Math building expresses the program’s conservative nature through a strongly linear form accentuated by shades of blue and grey in geometric and linear patterns.

In contrast, the Arts building expressed its playful personality through bold colors and irregular form, which follows the footprint left behind from a previously demolished building. It also features a “forest wall” consisting of repurposed redwood lumber that faces the main courtyard arranged in an irregular, yet rhythmic pattern. To take advantage of informal learning opportunities, writable interior wall surfaces and outdoor gathering spaces were provided throughout the buildings to encourage collaboration.

The San Jose City College Master Plan indicated that the existing 1950s Student Union was to be demolished. The reasoning: The building’s structural grid would not work with program needs, and a renovation would trigger costly DSA requirements. Requested to provide a second opinion, Aedis saw only opportunity. By adapting and re-using the building, the District could save considerable money and also provide a needed home for its growing Cosmetology and Reprographics departments.

To comply with the California Building Code, the Aedis design team reduced the building’s structural loads while implementing a voluntary seismic upgrade. The team also built full mock-ups of the ceiling space assembly to make sure that all ductwork, piping, ceiling support and lighting would fit within the existing low ceiling height. Cosmetology facilities occupy the majority of the structure. An adjacent one-story wing houses Reprographics.

San Mateo Community College District was one of three community college districts in California authorized by the state legislature to carry out a pilot design/build program. Renovating and building athletic and PE facilities at San Mateo, Canada, and Skyline colleges was one of the first community college design/build projects in California.

The design/build team consisted of Bothman Construction as the lead entity, CMX Sports Engineers as field designers, and Aedis as the architect-of-record. The project delivered all the benefits that design/build promises: faster design and construction, and zero change orders.

Each campus received new all-weather baseball, soccer and football fields and tracks, bleachers, batting cages, storage, restrooms, concession stands, parking facilities, ADA upgrade, and other amenities.