Sierra Community College, Tahoe-Truckee Campus

The 28,500 square-foot Sierra Community College Tahoe-Truckee Campus became the first LEED Gold certified community college in the state of California. The new facility has the capacity to serve up to 1000 students.

The LEED certification system provides third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across a range of areas including: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources.

The mountain styled campus was designed to meet LEED Silver certification requirements, but through collaboration, the team made it possible for the project to reach certified Gold status.

“Given the location of the Campus, in Truckee, a pristine mountain community whose citizens are at the forefront of sustainability, and environmental consciousness, the SCJCCD committed to constructing its Tahoe Truckee Campus to meet LEED Silver certification. Through the team work of the design team and contractor, our expectations were exceeded and we achieved LEED Gold certification.” -Rob Koster, Project Manager
Facilities Department, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District

• 40% less water use due to efficient interior fixtures and dual-flush controls.
• No refrigerants used. A combination of evaporative cooling and outside air (called economizing) was incorporated, which reduces air conditioning energy by 70%.
• Smart classroom controls regulate temperature and lighting according to the amount of daylight and number of students.
• Demand-controlled ventilation (fresh air control) reduces energy use by up to 50% when the building is vacant.
• Piping and ductwork have 50-100% thicker insulation than industry average, providing more efficient heating and cooling.
• Components in place for future solar-thermal heating systems.
• Better indoor air with humidifiers using electromagnetic water treatment instead of chemicals.
• All large fans and pumps have variable speed motors for reduced energy consumption.

The new facility is a two-story structural steel building with asphalt composite roofing with a fiber cement siding, and natural stone exterior. It incorporates lecture classrooms, science and chemistry labs, 2-D and 3-D art classrooms, a “Mechatronics” laboratory, a library, a student eating/gathering area, and administrative offices.