We all know what recycling centers do best – recycle – but one such facility in Signal Hill, California, took things one step further by recycling itself! The old building, an unusable manufacturing structure, has been replaced by a new, energy-efficient building made of recycled/recyclable metal. The new facility, called the Conservation Corps of Long Beach (CCLB) Environmental Education Center, was designed by Studio One Eleven, an integrated practice of architecture, landscape and urban design, and it features a pre-engineered metal building customized with wood cladding and storefront windows.
What the old building looked like before the remodel.
The 9,000-square-foot building combines economy and flexibility and represents the environmental mission of the Corps. It consists of rigid steel frames set on a 25-foot bay module, with pre-finished galvalume wall and roof panels set on a metal girt system, providing a flexible, 50-foot, clear-span space.
“The increase of space allows the CCLB to serve more Long Beach residents and businesses and help decrease waste that ends up in landfills while serving more at-risk youth in the CCLB’s education and life-skills program,” said Alan Pullman, Senior Principal at Studio One Eleven. “We strived to create a rigorously economical building that met the functional needs of the corps, upgraded the semi-industrial neighborhood of the site, and enhanced corps members pride in their environment.”
The metal building also has strong sustainable merits — it combines a 100% recycled/reusable steel alloy structure and skin with the efficiency of computer-designed and factory-manufactured components, which reduced material use and waste significantly compared to conventional buildings. It incorporates energy-saving features, such as a cool roof that reduces heat gain, integral translucent polycarbonate skylight roof panels that all but eliminate daytime lighting needs, and 10 operable ridge vents that reduce the need for mechanical ventilation (only a small portion of the structure has a mechanical HVAC system).
+ Conservation Corp of Long Beach
Excellent project, with multiple purposes…
Excellent that his project about re-use has so many uses itself.