The Bay Area community of San Leandro, California, wanted to build a youth-oriented facility that not only provided safe cultural and educational opportunities for area youth and families, but also served as an educational opportunity in and of itself by engaging its community in the building design. The Ashland Youth Center Complex became the culmination of that effort – a 31,000-square-foot LEED Platinum certified community center that features a performing arts studio, a library, a daycare, a health clinic, a fitness facility and a café.

Designed in conjunction with Alameda County, the intent of the Ashland Youth Center was to protect the youth’s future by implementing water and energy conservation systems that reduce global impact and saves public funds. Glumac performed MEP engineering for the facility, implementing a green roof designed to reduce the amount of heat absorbed by the sun. In addition, high efficiency boilers and chillers were added, along with custom rooftop air handling units and low-flow water fixtures.

Glumac’s Lighting Studio also worked to ensure that when completed, the Ashland Youth Center would be DarkSky compliant, meaning it contributes little to no light pollution at night, conserving energy and providing a clearer night sky for observation.

Size: 31,000 sf
Construction Cost: $23 Million
Start/End Date: July 2011/December 2012
Architect: NTD Architecture
Contractor: Clark & Sullivan Construction
Owner: Alameda County Health Care Services Agency
Services: MEP Engineering, Lighting Design

Images courtesy of Whittaker Photography