CAW Architects recently completed a facility for the Oakland, Calif., school district that feeds students and teaches them how to grow, harvest, and cook produce grown onsite. The production kitchen at the Unified School District Central Kitchen, Instructional Farm, and Education Center (“The Center”) prepares and distributes about 30,000 meals a day for district schools lacking their own kitchens.
The site also provides training for school district cafeteria workers and educational programs for students to learn about culinary arts, science, health, wellness, and agriculture. A greenhouse and demonstration garden illustrate growing cycles and how to identify different types of produce. The greenhouse produces starter plants from seed to supply about 60 school gardens. Culinary instruction takes place in a classroom outfitted with a full-service demonstration and teaching kitchen, and in an outdoor kitchen equipped with a pizza oven.
A courtyard serves as the facility’s central hub, connecting the production kitchen, indoor classrooms, and outdoor classrooms. Large glass roll-up doors open the indoors to the courtyard. An expansive wood trellis shades the courtyard and reduces glare in classrooms.
The building’s energy efficiency gets a boost from a hot water system that uses captured waste heat from a highly efficient C02 closed-loop refrigeration system. A solar-ready roof has space to support solar panels that will supply half of the production kitchen’s electric power.
The next phase of the project will use an undeveloped portion of the site to create an urban farm, community garden, and nature play space. The farm will offer career training for high school students and adult education programs.
Owner and/or developer: Oakland (Calif.) Unified School District
Design architect: CAW Architects
Architect of record: CAW Architects
MEP engineer: Integral Group
Structural engineer: SOHA Engineers
Construction manager: Cumming Group
Related Stories
| Nov 19, 2013
Top 10 green building products for 2014
Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.
| Nov 18, 2013
ASSA ABLOY, CertainTeed team up to tackle classroom acoustics
The new alliance has uncovered easily accessible solutions to address these acoustical challenges and reduce the sound reverberation that further complicates noise issues.
| Nov 15, 2013
Greenbuild 2013 Report - BD+C Exclusive
The BD+C editorial team brings you this special report on the latest green building trends across nine key market sectors.
| Nov 15, 2013
Halls of ivy keep getting greener and greener
Academic institutions have been testing the limits of energy-conserving technologies, devising new ways to pay for sustainability extras, and extending sustainability to the whole campus.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Nov 8, 2013
S+T buildings embrace 'no excuses' approach to green labs
Some science-design experts once believed high levels of sustainability would be possible only for low-intensity labs in temperate zones. But recent projects prove otherwise.
| Nov 8, 2013
Walkable solar pavement debuts at George Washington University
George Washington University worked with supplier Onyx Solar to design and install 100 sf of walkable solar pavement at its Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Va.
| Nov 7, 2013
Fitness center design: What do higher-ed students want?
Campus fitness centers are taking their place alongside student centers, science centers, and libraries as hallmark components of a student-life experience. Here are some tips for identifying the ideal design features for your next higher-ed fitness center project.
| Nov 5, 2013
Net-zero movement gaining traction in U.S. schools market
As more net-zero energy schools come online, school officials are asking: Is NZE a more logical approach for school districts than holistic green buildings?
| Nov 5, 2013
Oakland University’s Human Health Building first LEED Platinum university building in Michigan [slideshow]
Built on the former site of a parking lot and an untended natural wetland, the 160,260-sf, five-story, terra cotta-clad building features some of the industry’s most innovative, energy-efficient building systems and advanced sustainable design features.
