Green River Community College Trades Building
Scope
Stemper AC was involved in all phases of the Trades Building project: from writing the Project Request Report through Design and Construction. Extensive land use permitting was required to expand the campus to include the Trades site.
DESIGN: This 75,000 sf state-of-the-art facility replaced an existing five-building 42,574 sf complex. The facility houses programs including: Aviation, Welding, Carpentry and Manufacturing. The Trades Building at Green River College (GRC) was conceived of as large tilt-up concrete volumes for the labs, and steel-framed “connectors” for the lab support spaces, such as classrooms and faculty offices. Steel canopies further break down the scale of the large volumes, and entry canopies help identify each program within the overall complex. The variation between the building heights helps provide a scale appropriate for the college campus this facility was integrated into.
In the administration area, large sliding doors lead to the gallery area, allowing projects to be displayed inside.
DESIGNING FOR FUTURE PROGRAMMATIC CHANGE: Planning for future program changes is important to the college. The “50-year” design provides room for program expansion/contraction and connectivity between programs. Features include: high bay shop spaces; classrooms integrated into lab layouts to accommodate flexible teaching styles; and openings built into the structural system enabling shared space between programs.
SUSTAINABILITY/LEED: The project is targeted LEED® Silver and incorporates sustainable elements, including: 1) Efficient envelope design; 2) Energy efficient mechanical systems; 3) Solar photovoltaic roof structure that is 100% “solar-ready;” and 4) Extensive daylighting.
Client
Green River Community College & State of Washington Department of Enterprise Services (DES)
Location
Auburn, WA
Scott Stemper, AIA
Principal