Superior Courts of California, Plumas-Sierra wins WCCC award
The Superior Courts of California, Plumas-Sierra was honored with a Distinguished Project Award by the Western Council of Construction Consumers (WCCC). The grand opening of the courthouse was on June 10th, 2010 - officially making it the first ground up project for the AOC and the first multi-jurisdictional courthouse in the State of California.
CDCR Salinas Valley State Prison wins WCCC award
The Salinas Valley State Prison 64-Bed Mental Health Project, recently achieving LEED Silver certification by the United States Green Building Council, has also been honored on behalf of Roebbelen Construction with a Distinguished Project Award by the Western Council of Construction Consumers (WCCC). This project marks the first LEED certified project for a correctional facility under the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and is also the first California state prison to receive an award.
Eric Sifuentes' CASp certification
CASp (Certified Access Specialist) certification is a credential which allows an individual to become an "expert" in the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). The certification also allows that person to conduct certified field reports and inspections for building owners and clients. Nacht & Lewis will be offering expanded services related to certified access compliance reports, condition assessments and feasibility studies that can only be provided by CASp certified individuals. For more information about CASp, please visit calcasp.com and dgs.ca.gov.
CHPS Certification for River Valley HS
River Valley High School, designed by Nacht & Lewis Architects which opened for classes 2004, has recently completed participation as a pilot school in the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Operations Report Card (ORC) rating system with high marks. The online assessment tool qualitatively and quantitatively measures facilities' Thermal Comfort, Acoustics, Visual Quality, Indoor Air Quality and makes recommendations to improve the campus' performance in each category.
River Valley High School was not originally designed to be CHPS or LEED certified but by using good practical design principals it was shown to be a good example of responsible and energy efficient design.
Nancy Aaberg, Superintendent for Yuba City Unified, called the online assessment "a good tool for all the schools."
Usually when education deals with high performance, it involves student test scores and other academic measures, Aaberg added. "In this case," she said, "it's energy performance."
Last phase nearing completion - The thermal energy storage (TES) tank standing is nearly complete at one-hundred-twenty-nine feet six inches (129'-6"), twenty feet ten inches (23'-10") higher than the cooling tower, which is the highest point of the Central Plant. The TES tank will be use to stored chilled water produced during off peak hours to cut down electrical demands and cost. Concurrently, the space frame screen and splash are being installed. The space frame screen is an aluminum system with perforated metal panels set inside providing a veil to the tank, while the splash is a playful reminder of the tank's purpose.
Cosumnes River College, Elk Grove Center
The newest campus for the Los Rios Community College District is well underway. Nacht & Lewis has just completed the Schematic Design phase for the latest addition to the District's educational facilities portfolio. The Elk Grove Center, to be located at Whitelock Parkway and Bighorn Blvd., will be a new stand-alone campus affiliated with Cosumnes River College. The completed Center will ultimately cover approximately 13 acres and contain over 75,000 s.f. of educational and student services space. The building design has emerged to pay homage to the architectural character of the 1970's vintage Cosumnes River College while reflecting its contemporary setting in the growing community of Elk Grove.
CDCR California Institution for Women, Chino, CA
The CIW 45 Bed construction bid award went to the Soltek Pacific Construction. The Notice to Proceed was issued on May 20th and construction is underway with placement of job trailers, grading and locating of existing utilities.
The California Institution for Women (CIW) 45 Bed Acute/Intermediate Care Facility is 45-bed mental health treatment facility for women located in Corona, California. This bi-level building includes housing units, facility treatment spaces, and administrative spaces. The total building square footage is 52,985 square feet.
Thank you to all who participated in the Sacramento Zoo's 9th Annual Swingin' Safari Golf Tournament! It was a wet day but we had a good turnout and produced one of our best years yet!
APCO
Nacht & Lewis will be exhibiting at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) 76th Annual Conference & Expo in Houston, Texas. "APCO International is the world's largest organization dedicated to public safety communications." APCO "provides leadership; influences public safety communications decisions of government and industry; promotes professional development; and, fosters the development and use of technology for the benefit of the public." For more information about APCO, please visit apcointl.org.
Softball Season
It's summer and you know what that means... Softball! Each year, Nacht & Lewis participates in an Architecture and Engineering softball league here in the Sacramento area. This recreational league provides a great opportunity for firms to network and socialize in a non-office environment, as well as encourages team building among employees and socializing for families. The season consists of 12 to 13 scheduled games against a variety of firms from the design and construction industry and ends with an exciting organized tournament. Participation has been outstanding as employees ranging from Design Technician to Principals come out to play and cheer on the team.
Liberty Ranch ACE Team wins Award for Best Design Approach
Brian Maytum, AIA, LEED AP, our Principal-in-Charge for Education, is currently team leader for Galt's new Liberty Ranch High School ACE team. With the support of Amber Alexander, Senior Design Technician, George Tozcano, Student Intern, and Nacht & Lewis Architects, Brian and the team introduced the students to the practice of architecture, construction and engineering.
In addition, they worked on a proposal for the design and construction of an Intermodal Transportation Hub for public use by the community. The Hub would be part of the redevelopment of the Historic Railyards in downtown Sacramento. The Liberty Ranch students, a group of Freshmen & Sophomores, presented their design to a group of industry professionals on Saturday, April 24th, at Rosemont High School. There were 15 local high schools that competed in the competition.
The Liberty Ranch ACE team won the Best Design Approach Award for this year's Sacramento Regional ACE Competition. The award was announced at an awards banquet Friday, April 30th, at the Double Tree Hotel in Sacramento. This is a great accomplishment for the first year high school.
Jesuit High School Workshop
Chris Hirai (Class of 2002) and Mike Parrott (Class of 1987) are continuing to give back to the community by facilitating a ten week architectural graphics workshop at Jesuit High School for students interested in the world of design and design documentation. Participants are gaining opportunities to form ideas and concepts of their own into images and models using multiple graphic tools.