It’s official. The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation Nursing Complex at College of the Desert, designed by HMC Architects, has achieved LEED® Silver certification. This achievement affirms College of the Desert’s commitment to environmental stewardship and becomes their first LEED-certified facility.
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“It is great to work with a client like College of the Desert who is actively seeking sustainable design solutions for their projects,” stated Ken Salyer, principal at HMC Architects. “Many of the sustainable design strategies we used—improved indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and classroom day lighting—are practices we would typically do for any education project.”
Sustainable design strategies include the use of solar tubes that provide day lighting to interior spaces, PVC cool roofing to reduce heat gain and heat island effect, optimized energy performance, and the use of recycled denim jeans as insulation. Overall, the facility performs more than 20% better than Title 24 energy code.
The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation Nursing Complex—the Coachella Valley’s established trainer of allied health providers—helps to address the region’s severe nursing shortage through specialized skills training and partnerships with area healthcare leaders.
The facility was previously honored with an Award of Merit from the Community College Facility Coalition.
