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Last week we attended the 2015 Green California Schools and Community Colleges Summit and Exposition in Pasadena California. The Facilities and Construction team at Chico Unified School District had kindly invited us to join them in accepting the Summit’s Leadership Award in the category of “Green Building.”

This prestigious award is given to one public school district in California whose recent facility construction project exemplifies Green California’s mandates for green building, renewable energy and “environmentally preferable” purchasing. Chico Unified School District had won the award for the new Chico Junior High School Science Building.

The following text was included in the Leadership Awards 2015 event brochure to describe the project:

Green Building
Chico Unified School District
New Science Building

From it’s inception, Chico Junior High School Modernization has been focused on sustainability. Architecturally, large overhangs and hard surfaced entries protect the interior form dirt and dust migration. Clerestory windows bring in daylight. Mechanically, demand control ventilation was used in more areas that the code requires. Economizers were used in addition to EC motors on exhaust fans to minimize energy use. High efficiency units were selected. Electrically, 14,693 watts were allowed by the most strict energy code in the Nation; the project’s adjusted lighting power was just over one-third at 5,697 watts, saving the District more than 60 percent on it’s lighting energy usage. The students and staff at Chico Unified School District have achieved projects that enhance the learning environment, student health, and the bottom line. The new Science building at Chico Junior High School will allow students to grow and learn in a complete state-of-the-art interactive classroom, incorporating nine student science stations with smart touch screens at each station on extendable arms and large wall-mounted touch screen and a document camera at the teacher’s work station.

The team from Chico Unified accepted the award graciously with District Board Member Dr. Kathleen E. Kaiser saying a few rousing words about the unique value the building will bring to the District and taking the opportunity to call out the excellent work of the District Facilities and Construction Department (Julie Kistle, Maria Campos, Lelanya Rothenberger, Mary Wrysinski, Kayci Tiner, Phil Morgan). Though I joined them on stage, the real hard work and credit in our office goes to the team that’s actually working on this design project including: Michael Fennacy, Grant Dodson, Bob Petithomme, Haley Ward, Kjirsten Harpain, Ginger Cardoza, Shari Sakimoto, Paw Vue, Alfredo Rodriguez, Valentine Pelayo and others. 

Other firms involved in project Design: Beuhler & Beuhler; Rolls, Anderson & Rolls; Lawrence-Nye-Carlson Associates; Infinity Communications; Hardin-Davidson Engineering

It is a joy to support the Chico Unified School District, we offer our hearty congratulations. With each project it is our motto that we can be “As Green and you want to be,” so it is thanks to the progressive goals and objectives of the District that this award is possible. Special thanks to the organizers of the Green California Schools and Colleges Summit and Exposition, we value your hard work and appreciate the direction and recognition you provide. We look forward to attending next year!