Mark Cavagnero Associates with TLCD Architecture was selected through a 2009 design competition to design the Academic Center at the College of Marin’s Kentfield Campus. The 43,000 square foot building is located on the northeast quadrant of the campus, along two major arterials bordering a commercial and residential district. The building program includes administrative and faculty spaces, classrooms, and a multipurpose space designed to accommodate 100 people.
The team created a design that helps draw the community into the campus, providing two major shared-use facilities under a canopy. The multifunctional Board Room on the upper level provides a smaller community setting for meetings, classes, and events, while the multipurpose space serves as a highly visible cultural and educational venue for larger functions. The flexible outdoor courtyard can also host more casual outdoor student and community events. This focal point of the design acts as a lantern, visible from pedestrian and vehicular routes from many directions, drawing the community into the campus.
Striving for LEED certification and carbon neutrality, the exterior sunscreens, entry canopy, and interior shades significantly reduce energy use. Evacuated-tube solar thermal collectors provide hot water for radiant floor heating. Natural ventilation throughout the building significantly reduces or eliminates the need for mechanical fan units, while high-efficiency chilled beams and radiant heating systems provide supplemental heating and cooling for the building.
