2022 USGBC-LA Sustainable Innovation Awards
Honor in Energy/Operational
Project of the Year
Designed by the design-build team comprised of the general contractor, architect, and MEP engineer, the new 403,306 SF Mary D. Nichols Campus for the California Department of General Services, California Air Resources Board (CARB) is one of the largest and most advanced vehicle emissions testing and research facilities in the world. The headquarters centralizes the organization’s previously scattered locations into a single 19-acre site in Riverside, housing more than 450 employees. Recently accomplishing LEED Platinum® certification, the facility is also designed with the intent to comply with CalGreen Tier 2 standards and the International Living Future Institute’s Net Zero certification. The unique three-story, pinwheel-shaped building strives to create a beautiful destination, be a good neighbor within the city and provide a compelling environment that will bring people together and foster a strong sense of pride and place for CARB and its employees.
Contributing to occupant comfort as well as building performance, the architectural form lends itself to easy circulation, views, daylighting, and self-shading, and features abundant open and green spaces, as well as a nature walk around the perimeter of the property. The massing of the office building is consolidated into three stories that extend in three directions parallel to light duty testing, chemistry, and toward the conference buildings. This creates a smaller building footprint on the site and shortens horizontal circulation networks, while using vertical connectivity to increase proximity between offices, testing areas, support spaces, and laboratories, resulting in increased flexibility, optimized adjacencies, and greater opportunities for interaction. The office is the nexus of the overall building, a “Central Command Control,” and a crucial link between all the key components of the CARB mission—testing, chemistry analysis, compliance, education, and outreach. A variety of types and scales of meeting spaces, as well as coffee bars and cafés promote interaction and collaboration, especially for staff who circulate between the various departments throughout the day. Overall, the planning creates an efficiency of motion, which works to increase productivity and connectivity between teams.
The layout of the office building establishes two principal outdoor spaces—the main courtyard to the east and a more private courtyard to the west. Shading provided by the building and large trees create comfortable respite spaces. In addition, the lunchroom spills out onto the lower level of the main courtyard, with tables and a terraced seating area. The main courtyard also serves as overflow space for large gatherings occurring in the auditorium, with flexibility for catered events to make use of the adjacent lunchroom. Incorporating direct vehicular access into the main courtyard from the north provides additional flexibility for event programming. This securable entry will allow controlled access for demonstration vehicles, food trucks, and other event or maintenance related equipment.