Groundbreaking for the BEST Center at Laney College, Oakland, CA.
On February 25, BEST Center joined Peralta Community College District and Laney College in a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction on a new set of buildings to be known as the BEST Center, an Ultra-Low Energy Building for Community Education, Local Economy, and the Environment.
Laney students and the East Bay community will soon benefit from a unique, state-of-the-art, active learning laboratory in sustainable building design, construction and operations. Students will learn how to apply conceptual theory in environmental control technology in a hands-on learning environment; and gain advanced skills for emerging careers in high performance buildings and building automation systems that will have a direct impact on occupant health, security, carbon emissions and energy use of our built environment.
The BEST Center will feature three distinct structures: two “Test Houses” of approximately 1250 gross square feet each ( the Electrical Lab House” and alternate mechanical systems “Lab House”); and the “Passive Classroom”, approximately 2500 gross square feet, designed to meet or exceed zero net energy use using building integrated photovoltaic panels.
Both Test Houses are designed to reflect typical conditions encountered in market-rate housing and the Classroom will meet rigorous “Passivhaus” standards; aiming to achieve Net Zero Energy, meaning that it must produce as much energy as its systems consume. Environmentally beneficial features include harvesting of rainwater for gardens; windows and roof vents that provide natural ventilation; windows located to maximize daylight & views; solar technologies; efficiencies in mechanical and HVAC systems; and many others.
Notably, this building, is designed to achieve a LEED Platinum certification , and perhaps will be the first classroom in California to meet Passive House standards. It is also designed to meet and exceed standards for zero-net energy design, using building-integrated photovoltaic panels.
The program included remarks from Laney College President, Dr. Elnora Webb; Peralta Community College District Chancellor, Dr. Jowell C. Laguerre; Peralta Board President, Dr. William “Bill” Riley; VP, Peralta Community College District Vice Chancellor, Dr. Sadiq B. Ikharo; and BEST Center Principal Investigator and CTE Dean, Laney College, Peter Crabtree.
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