- Area: 28000 ft²
- Year: 2009
-
Photographs:Nic Lehoux
Text description provided by the architects. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is please to announce that the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business building at Mills College, Oakland, California, has been awarded the United States Green Building Council’s LEED-NC Gold Certification. This is a significant achievement for the Lokey School as it reinforces the core values of the Center for Socially Responsible Business and commitment to sustainability, environmental stewardship and ethical business practices.
Mills College, is an independent liberal arts institution dedicated to innovative learning and expanding opportunities for women. Founded in 1852, the campus is noted for a wealth of notable historic buildings and rich landscape heritage. In 2001, Mills introduced its first 4+1 BA/MBA degree program to encourage students to pursue professional study in business, where women are significantly underrepresented. The successful program and increased enrollments led to the development of the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business (GSB). With an expanding curriculum, the school required a new building that would provide a state-of-the-art, dynamic, and personal learning environment concurrent with the school’s mission to transcend boundaries for women.
Located at the symbolic gateway to the campus, the new 28,000 square foot building introduces innovative building technologies with sustainability strategies to compliment Mills’ legacy in leadership in social responsibility and environmental stewardship. The L-shaped plan and southwest orientation conserves historic green space and provides optimal solar exposure. The design provides a new focal point that reinforces the campus core as an interactive catalyst. The two-story building is organized along a deep indoor/outdoor porch covered by a living roof. Planted with drought tolerant succulents, the living roof offers the benefits of solar shading, water conservation and showcases the academic focus on social responsibility. Inside, the porch becomes the entry lobby and main circulation space connecting a series of informal break-out spaces, flexible teaching spaces, with a state of the art multi-media gathering hall. A second-floor consisting of faculty and MBA suites overlooks the showcased living roof and provides light and air filled offices, meeting rooms and support spaces for the school’s mission of social responsibility.
Throughout the project, sustainable features are fully integrated with the architecture to provide an exemplary teaching tool and considerable measurable benefits. By harvesting rainwater from all roofs, treating it and reusing it for flushing low flow toilet fixtures, the total baseline water consumption of the building is reduced by 80%. Daylight illuminates 100% of the occupied interior spaces and is supplemented with occupancy controlled lighting fixtures. By implementing radiant heated concrete floors, low-E glazing with sun shades, and opting for operable windows over air conditioning, the building achieves a 32% annual reduction in energy consumption compared to baseline usage.
The USGBC’s LEED Green Building Rating System™ was designed by leading experts in the construction industry to promote buildings that are economically profitable, environmentally friendly, healthy and productive places to work. The system is based on ratings in six categories: sustainability; water efficiency; energy efficiency and atmospheric quality; use of materials and resources; indoor environmental quality; and sustainable innovations.
