The new multi-purpose building at the Urban Promise Academy consists of approximately 11,000 SF of new construction including a multi-purpose gymnasium with raised platform stage, office, conference room, equipment storage, rest rooms, a lobby, and art/music classrooms. The project is located within the Oakland Unified School District.

The modernization project at Oakland High School consisted of major renovations in Building E (a 5,573 SF wellness center) and Building F (a 20,400 SF historic shop building). In addition, the project included the construction of one new building, Building G (a 16,320 SF classroom building). In addition to the challenge of renovating aging buildings to provide a healthy and productive educational environment, the design team also had to meet stringent energy efficiency requirements.

La Maestra Community Health Centers is an award-winning not-for-profit organization that has been serving low-income and immigrant communities for 19 years.

The Coast Community College District (CCCD), located in Orange County, California, comprises three community colleges that enroll more than 60,000 students per year in over 300 degree and certificate programs. Founded in 1947, the CCCD enjoys a reputation as one of the leading community college districts in the United States.

The builder for Hangar 25, a corporate jet hangar with attached office facility located at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport, set out with the lofty goal to build the "most sustainable aviation hangar in the world".

Historically, multifamily residential housing developments had few incentives or disincentives to incorporate high efficiency design features and appliances into their projects.

The Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences (TCES) is a three-story, 45,000 ft2 building on Sierra Nevada College's Lake Campus that demonstrates how an ambitious project team can successfully reduce energy usage by implementing a variety of innovative mechanical designs at minimal additional first cost.

Building form and orientation can have a profound impact on overall building energy use and comfort. One of the greatest challenges facing architects designing new buildings is striking a balance between client needs and energy efficiency.

These are special case studies of great energy efficient buildings, selected from several areas in northern and southern California.

In 2005, the San Jose Mercury News' 410,000-square-foot printing plant redesigned their compressed air system. San Jose Mercury News engineering staff realized that the system was inefficient, leading to high energy and operating costs. To address the problem, the company turned to a statewide investor-owned utility sponsored energy efficiency program, Savings By Design (SBD), for help in designing the system and suggesting cost-saving improvements.

Premier Automotive Group Headquarters and Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) Facility were designed and built using these strategies and this case study reports the signficant results both projects are demonstrating.

Two Southern California projects have taken advantage of climate-related and site-specific characteristics to design and construct high-performance, environmentally friendly buildings.

Large retail or big box stores are looking toward energy efficiency and sustainable design strategies to provide a competitive edge and increase profitability across the nation and in California's hard-hitting marketplace.

Choices made during the concept, design, and construction phases of new K-12 school projects in California impact students, teachers, parents, and the community for various reasons. For children and teachers, their daily comfort and performance is affected by the classrooms, hallways, gymnasiums, and auditoriums where they interact from four to eight hours each day.

Displacement ventilation (DV) is an air distribution system designed to simultaneiously improve indoor air quality and reduce energy use. Cool, rather than cold supply air is provided through low sidewall diffusers directly to occupants. The cool air, at about 65 degrees F rather than 55 degrees F, falls to the floor due to gravity and spreads across the floor.