Award Winner 2007
De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
The Kirsch Center at De Anza College is a LEED® Gold buiding that was implemented by the students and for the students. Determined that the Kirsch Center be green, the student government allocated $180,000 of its own funds to support the project. Students were heavily involved in programming and design workshops, pushing for features that have made the building a highly popular place to socialize and learn.
Outstanding Features
The guiding motto for the Kirsch Center is a “building that teaches about energy, resources and stewardship.” To live up to this motto, the building is designed to let students view its inner workings. Structural and utility systems, some of which have transparent panels to aid viewing, are exposed throughout the building. Passionate about incorporating renewable energy into the project, students can watch a real-time display of power generated by the photovoltaic system as well as the building’s overall energy usage. An organic garden, bioswales, and many other features chosen by students directly impart energy and resource stewardship principles to building users.
Survey Results
The Kirsch Center currently ranks in the 100th percentile for general building satisfaction in CBE’s occupant survey database. The building shows exceptional performance in air quality and lighting, ranking in the 100th percentile for these categories as well. The Kirsch Center received excellent scores for acoustic quality, an area where many otherwise outstanding buildings often fall short.
Project Comments
“The Kirsch Center has so many ratings in the top 100 percentile. Does it get better than this? And it has acoustical, comfort, and air quality scores just not heard of in almost any buildings.”
“It looks like a very, very livable building indeed."”
2007 Honorable Mentions
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See the Global Ecology Research Center award page for list of 2007 Honorable Mention winners.