THE NEW BUILDING 

COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO’S NEW SCIENCE BUILDING

Background

Underwritten by Measure C general obligation bond funds, the Science Building is the first new building in the center of campus constructed in more than forty years. Recognizing the importance of this structure, the campus community has had significant involvement in the shaping of the design guidelines that would meet the needs of current and future generation of CSM students. An Exterior Design Review Committee, representing science and other faculty, staff, college administration, facilities staff, and Swinerton representatives developed the design guidelines consistent with the CSM’s Facilities Master Plan (2001).

Design

Among other features, the guidelines recommended that the siting, massing, landscape, paving, and building envelope in the Science Building should be harmonious with the original vision of the campus. The ideal design was envisioned as complementing the existing homogeneous architecture of the campus—the vernacular of the original architect John Carl Warnecke. It would draw elements from the campus architecture without copying it. It should create a sense of entry, an inviting pedestrian gateway at the north end of the campus from a new north parking lot. The building would also terminate and shorten the existing central spine of the campus.

After developing a detailed RFP, the San Mateo County Community College District received proposals from two Design Build Entities (DBEs) on December 19, 2003. The selection committee met with the competing DBEs who submitted proposals, considered feedback and comments from interested parties, and weighed the merits of each design, its conformance to specifications, and its alignment with college priorities. The committee determined that the proposal submitted by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. represented the best value and met the design and programmatic requirements. The final design has Warnecke “DNA” as the architect, John Gack of LPA, has suggested.

Serving 21st Century Science Education

Supporting the biological, physical, and earth sciences, the new facility has approximately 37,800 assignable square feet (58,500 gross square feet) that will house labs, lectures halls, and faculty offices.

The learning environments within the facility are designed to be consistent with recommendations from the reform movement underway in science education—with spaces to encourage collaborative learning and the doing and learning of science through the “integrated”, cross-disciplinary approaches implemented at CSM’s Integrated Science Center over the past decade.

While the Integrated Science Center is a central feature of the facility, space in the new science building has been specified in several clusters, A, B, and C. Each cluster includes laboratories, support spaces and faculty offices:

“A” cluster includes an earth science lab and stock room, three physics labs, a stock room shared by astronomy and physics, the observatory with associated storage space, and the planetarium with support space;

“B” cluster includes labs for anatomy/physiology, botany, zoology, microbiology, and prep rooms and support facilities for the various disciplines; and

“C” cluster includes two chemistry laboratories, one organic chemistry lab, a chemistry lab technician office, and various prep, storage, and instrument rooms.

Eco-Friendly Building

Architectural finishes such as painting, flooring, and acoustic ceilings are environmentally friendly along with recycled content and low Volatile Organics Compounds (VOC’s). The design exceeds the energy efficiency requirements of California’s building code, Title 24, by 48%.

Energy efficiency measures include: · florescent lights with occupancy and daylighting sensors; · a “cool” roof that reflects sunlight, not only reducing heat into the building but also extending the service life of the roof; · a combination of direct and indirect cooling that allows air conditioning of the entire building while accommodating the 100% fresh air requirements for chemistry laboratories; · a digital energy management system that permits the operation of mechanical and lighting systems tightly in alignment with building occupancy.