sustainability Archives - TLCD Architecture

TLCD Announced as Architect for Wine Spectator Learning Center

Sonoma State University announced today that TLCD Architecture and BNBT Builders will partner on the design and construction of the Wine Spectator Learning Center in Rohnert Park.

“As the educational nucleus of a thriving regional economy, it was important to us to engage local professionals on this project. We decided after a lengthy review of top quality firms that TLCD and BNBT have the right combination of skill and experience. Over the coming months, a cutting-edge facility will take shape on campus, designed and built to provide the University community a teaching and learning environment that meets its demands and exceeds expectations as one of California’s leading institutions of higher education,” Dr. William Silver, Dean of the School of Business and Economics said.

TLCD Architecture has been working with the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State since early 2014 to bring high level design visualizations to the fundraising effort and is thrilled to continue as the architect for this project.

“It’s a real privilege to be involved in such an innovative project. Sonoma State University and the Wine Business Institute have taken a very sustainable approach by revitalizing one of the original campus buildings. We believe the transformation will be truly stunning, and provide a perfect home for this forward-thinking regional and international program,” Brian Wright, Principal at TLCD Architecture said.

Who’s Up for a Field Trip… to American AgCredit?

Architecture firms are all about field trips… and often they are tours of our projects under construction. This week, TLCD’s staff got out for a tour of the American AgCredit Headquarters project in Santa Rosa. This landmark 120,000 square foot project is nearing completion with portions of the building to be occupied within a few weeks. It was a great opportunity to tour it and see how many of the key features are taking shape. In the photo above, our team is looking at the rammed earth feature wall which was built early in construction. It was encased in a wooden structure for protection, and then the building was constructed around it. The wall is a stunning reference to the soil that makes agriculture possible and supports American AgCredit’s mission of farm lending.

One of many exciting design elements will be perforated zinc exterior cladding, which is only now beginning to be installed. Over the next few months these zinc panels will completely transform the appearance of the building. Not only will they visually define the facade, the panels will also provide sunshading that will significantly reduce the cost of cooling the building.

On the second floor, we walked one of the sky bridges with a feature wall of channel glass. From the outside, the glass provides a distinctive entry element, but from the inside, it creates wonderful, diffused lighting for what will be a casual work area for the employees of American AgCredit. This sky bridge will have soft lighting to one side and clear views to the inner courtyard on the other side.

Throughout the tour we did what most architects do… looked up, looked down, looked all around. These tours are a learning process for the entire staff and also expose us to ideas, materials and solutions we can use on other projects.

American AgCredit Headquarters, TLCD Architecture, Zinc Cladding, Santa Rosa Construction Project

Design Competition Fuses Primary Care and Mental Health Services

The healthcare landscape is always changing as providers evolve the framework for care and adjust capital plans to maximize shifting reimbursement models, stay current with medical technology and respond to shifting political priorities and societal demands. In recent years, the Affordable Care Act and the cry for improved mental healthcare services have pushed the industry to increase outpatient primary care and mental health capacities. This trend is leading some in the industry to cast away old notions and stigma – and seize the opportunity to make mental health an integral part of primary healthcare.

In a recent design competition, TLCD Architecture explored how the fusion of mental health and primary care could be supported in the built environment. The resulting outpatient campus brings primary care and mental health together in a unified, community-focused design while addressing privacy and security concerns. The concept of total patient wellbeing begins with easy access for patients and incorporates healthy opportunities of exercise, farmers markets, community activities, health education and medical care. Giving people a reason to visit the site on a regular basis for everyday activities serves to promote health and wellbeing.

tlcd architecture, healthcare design, integrating primary cary and mental health, jason brabo, design competition, outdoor plaza, food trucks, kid play areas, indoor outdoor stair — The plaza offers an area for farmers markets, yoga and community activities

During the design process TLCD Architecture used our own healthcare experience that includes recent work on acute and outpatient mental health facilities, as well as assembling a team of designers, planners and engineers with diverse backgrounds to bring fresh perspectives to the discussion. We also used the growing body of research that brings these ideas into focus and provides motivation for healthcare providers to integrate primary care and mental health services that result in improved patient care, financial efficiencies and increased marketplace appeal.

As designers, TLCD Architecture believes that it’s our responsibility to bring design and operational innovations and new thinking to our clients so they are well informed as they make decisions that shape the future of healthcare.

For more information visit these resources.

Integrated Behavioral Health Project

Behavioral Healthcare

Article: More ACOs Look to Behavioral Health

World Health Organization

Report: Integrating mental health into primary care: a global perspective

TLCD’s first LEED Certified project!

Carl Servais AIA

The construction of Solano College Building 600 was completed last December and we recently received news that the project has been awarded enough points to achieve the level of Certified under LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations (LEED-NC), making it the first TLCD project to officially achieve LEED certification!

TLCD Architecture was hired as a consultant to Architect-of-Record, Henley Architects + Associates (now A2R Architects) to work throughout the design and construction process of Building 600, a 13,837sf addition and remodel project at Solano College in Fairfield, CA. The project includes bright new office space for the Solano College Administration and a wonderful new Board Room addition with high ceilings and a curved transom window that provides daylight across the beautifully crafted Cherry wood dais.

Some of the green features of this LEED Certified project include:

High-efficiency HVAC system, designed and built by Peterson Mechanical out of Sonoma, CA.
High-efficiency LED lighting, designed and built by Sac Valley Electric out of Sacramento, CA.
A new high-reflectivity, Energy Star certified TPO roof over new rigid insulation.
New insulation at all existing concrete exterior walls that, combined with other energy efficiency measures, pushed the design to perform almost 10% better than California’s already strict Title 24 Energy Code.
Tubular Skylights from Solatube that provide natural daylight into open office spaces and corridors in the building that would otherwise have very little access to daylight due to the small amount of windows in the existing exterior. Even during construction, the contractor could work in the sky lit spaces without any electric lights turned on.

As the Project Architect for Building 600, I have to give special thanks to Green Build Energy Group, the LEED consultant who helped guide the team across the finish line, and DPR Construction, the general contractor who built the project with an extraordinary level of care and quality. This project had a lot of budget and schedule constraints, which made LEED Certification an immensely difficult task that could only have been achieved by the wonderfully collaborative effort of everyone involved.

LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building certification program created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998 to recognize buildings that take extraordinary measures towards sustainability in the areas of energy and water efficiency, material and resource efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and site design. Sustainable design is an important part of all the work we do, and we have several projects that are currently pursuing LEED certification, so we know that Building 600 will be the first of many LEED certified projects at TLCD.

Reflections on the Monterey Design Conference

Over the weekend, eight members of TLCD Architecture travelled down California’s coastline to the AIACC Monterey Design Conference. As a non-architect (though somewhat of a closet arch-geek) I was thrilled to be invited to attend the conference as a TLCD representative. After a couple of days back in the office and some time absorbing and reflecting, I thought I would share a little from my experience…

The Monterey Design Conference is held every two years at the epically beautiful Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove and draws some of the most renowned architects of our time. As a first-timer to the event, one could image that I was a bit nervous. Like a rookie ballplayer joining a team mid-season, I walked into the main hall with the knowledge that I was amongst a group of well-established friends and colleagues who have partnered, collaborated, and competed with each other for years. Though I was admittedly somewhat tongue-tied and star struck by the talent surrounding me, I was quickly assured and encouraged by the general camaraderie and openness amongst all of the attendees.

The list of speakers was impressive to say the least. From Tom Kundig’s exploration into the interaction between building and landscape to Dr. Dickson Despommier’s response to global food shortages and environmental degradation through vertical farming, the key focus of the conference seemed to orbit around the larger concepts of sustainability.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1clRcxZS52s&w=640&h=360]

But for me, listening to Jeanne Gang was the true highlight of the entire conference. As she began to show her work, Gang intricately guided us through a complexly deep and thoughtful approach to design (it is no surprise that she was honored as a MacArthur Fellow this September). From finding balance in urban ecology to creating a vision of communities in a postindustrial landscape, Gang realizes projects that few could even conceive possible.

Looking back on the conference, I see how it has changed and expanded my understanding of the impact of design on our world and when Monterey Design Conference 2013 comes along, count me in!

-Bridgett McGrath, TLCD Marketing Team Member