HMC Architects and San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) were recognized for excellence in sustainable design with a 2022 U.S. Green Building Council Los Angeles (USGBC-LA) Sustainable Innovation Award. In recognition of their overall sustainability efforts, SBCCD received the Sustainable Development Strategy Award. The award honored three of the district’s projects, including the HMC-designed San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) Technical Education Building.

The 102,000 SF, all-electric Technical Education Building is designed to advance the capabilities of SBVC’s automotive, electrical, machine technology, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R), and water technology programs. It will serve as a vital campus resource to students making advancements in fields such as electric vehicles, photovoltaics, robotics, and rapid prototyping. Throughout the building, visual links between instructional spaces serve to inspire, inform, and connect students and educators. “Sticky” spaces provide opportunities for collaboration and inspiration both within and across departments. The building is designed to be a Net Zero ready, living lab that will both provide exhibit space for automotive technology and feature innovations in regenerative design such as solar glass, phase change material, and an atmospheric water generator. To implement these innovations, the design team collaborated closely with both the San Bernardino Community College District and Southern California Edison.

USGBC-LA is an organization of professionals and advocates who work together to transform Southern California into a more sustainable region for all. Members and volunteers believe in creating a more sustainable built environment through education, innovation, and impactful action. The annual Sustainable Innovation Awards evaluate merit-based sustainable strategies that demonstrate exemplary performance by going above and beyond credit achievement. The awards program is open to both built and un-built projects certified under any sustainability rating system or on track to achieve certification. To learn more, visit the USGBC-LA website.