by Brianna Crandall — September 4, 2015—The Trades and Advanced Technology Center at Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) in New Mexico has earned the highest green building certification possible from the U.S. Green Building Council—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum. The designation is a high point for a facility that was built in 2011 to propel students into newly developing careers in the green economy.
“Before the labor shortages and technology gaps in emerging green-collar jobs,” said Randy Grissom, president of SFCC, “it was evident that the future success of our students in securing higher-paying jobs would be shaped by their knowledge of sustainable technologies in building sciences and construction, engineering, plumbing and HVAC, solar and water resource management, and alternative fuels.”
Situated on 366 high desert acres, SFCC was reportedly among the first campuses in the nation to adopt a sustainability plan in tandem with its campus master plan. The plan, approved in 2009, called for the increase in the use of renewable energy to lower the college’s carbon footprint and provide strategic educational opportunities campus-wide.
The Trades and Advanced Technology Center offers a broad curriculum that includes associate-in-applied-science degrees in building science and construction technologies, drafting and engineering technologies, greenhouse management, and sustainable technologies.
Specialty certifications in biofuels and biodiesel/alternative fuels, green building construction and systems, residential energy auditing and inspection, green infrastructure/IT, solar energy, and water treatment operations and resource management are also offered.
All degree-seeking students at SFCC, about 12,000 per year, are required to enroll in Environmental Technologies (ENVR111), which introduces them to sustainable concepts.
Earning LEED Platinum certification was reportedly a goal from the day of conception for the center. Designed by Allan Baer, of Lloyd & Associates Architects in Santa Fe, the 45,336-square-foot facility includes these features:
- Rooftop teaching decks, classrooms, a demonstration theater, technologies and technical workshops and labs, lounge areas, computer lab, and administrative areas.
- Solar thermal and photovoltaic rooftop system.
- Heliodynamic concentrating solar collectors for hot water to provide heating to closed loop system.
- A 12,500-plus-gallon hot water storage tank with closed loop system for HVAC to TATC and campus buildings.
- Rainwater catchment for lavatory use.
- Motion-sensing lights with 96% LED lighting.
- Skylights with fiber optic tubes to reflect and expand light distribution.
- Rooftop water collectors and waste water/gray water recycling for irrigation use.
- ICF construction and reflective roofing to ensure an efficient building envelope with R-Value of 30.
- 15.25% of the project’s energy cost is offset by renewable site-generated energy.
- High-efficiency systems, including adsorption-based mechanical system, reduced fan and pump power, and on-site renewable energy from photovoltaic and solar collector systems.
For more information about the project, see the SFCC news article.
