Riverside, California, USA
ZGF, Hensel Phelps, and Affiliated Engineers have completed the new California Air Resources Board Southern California Headquarters-Mary D. Nichols Campus, a cutting-edge vehicle testing facility that is also a landmark example of California’s climate policies in action for the Department of General Service.
The California Air Resources Board Southern California Headquarters-Mary D. Nichols Campus has recently been awarded a 2022 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Since its inception in 1967, California Air Resources Board (CARB) has become a worldwide leader in defining vehicular emissions standards to benefit public health and confront climate change.
Now, with the completion of its new net-zero energy headquarters, the organization is walking the talk when it comes to its own environmental footprint.
The project centralizes the organization’s 450 employees and five existing locations that were previously spread throughout southern California into a single 19-acre site.
Designed with the certification goals of LEED Platinum®, CalGreen Tier 2, and the International Living Future Institute, Net Zero certification, the unique three-story, pinwheel-shaped building strives to create a beautiful destination, be a good neighbor, provide a compelling environment, and foster a strong sense of pride and place for CARB and its employees.
Characterized by clearly defined angles crystallized by charcoal and amber-colored metal panels, the cutting-edge form is representative of the machine-like, innovative nature of CARB and its impact on the world while being simplistic enough to make way for the headquarters’ complex programmatic needs.
Influenced by Riverside’s semi-arid regional climate, performance, and budget, the architectural parti established in the entryway is echoed throughout the exterior of the project’s sprawling footprint.
Contributing to both occupant comfort and 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 and shortens horizontal circulation networks.
Meanwhile, vertical connectivity is used to increase proximity between offices, testing areas, support spaces, and laboratories, resulting in increased flexibility, optimized adjacencies, and greater opportunities for interaction.
The office becomes a nexus for the overall building and a crucial link between all the key components of CARB’s mission—testing, chemistry analysis, compliance, education, and outreach.
A variety of meeting spaces and coffee bars promote interaction and collaboration, especially for staff who circulate between various departments throughout the day.
Overall, the planning creates an efficiency of motion that increases productivity and connectivity between teams.
Additionally, the layout of the office building establishes two principle outdoor spaces: the main courtyard to the east and a more private courtyard to the west. Shading provided by the building and large trees creates comfortable respite spaces, with tables and terraced seating for al fresco dining and meetings.
The main courtyard also serves as overflow space for large gatherings occurring in the auditorium and employees dining in the adjacent lunchroom. Incorporating direct vehicular access into the main courtyard from the north provides additional flexibility for event programming.
This securable entry allows controlled access for demonstration vehicles, food trucks, and other event or maintenance-related equipment.
Sustainability. By achieving unprecedented energy and carbon savings, the cutting-edge vehicle testing facility is a landmark example of California’s climate policies in action.
The planning, building envelope, MEP design, and carefully selected materials were developed to exceed the client-mandated net-zero energy goals while meeting construction budgets and addressing operation costs.
The additional goal of creating a zero-emission campus informed the design of an extensive electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which supports over 140 charging stations.
Through the integration of advanced energy-saving strategies, 100% of energy for all end-uses is supplied using renewable energy with an excess of power, which is used for the EV chargers.
The specific strategies to achieve on-site power production and reduced overall energy consumption include a high-performance envelope; extensive daylighting; 204,903 SF of an on-site solar array on the building roof and over the on-grade parking; capturing of energy generated in the test cells by AC dynamometers for direct use or storage in the facility battery system; shared HVAC/lighting occupancy control; decoupled chilled water and process chilled water system cooling; adiabatic/evaporative humidifiers; airflow monitoring system; and high-bandwidth Building Management System.
Project: California Air Resources Board Southern California Headquarters-Mary D. Nichols Campus
Architects: ZGF
Engineers: Affiliated Engineers, Inc.
General Contractor: Hensel Phelps
Client: Department of General Service
Photographers: Connie Zhou
