The Sunnyvale Sun
Cover Story
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
An environmental biology classroom located on the north side of the Kirsch Center has large windows that bring in a lot of natural light without a lot of heat.
Interactive Learning
Kirsch Center was designed to help teach students about environment
By Crystal Lu
It's a building that cools off naturally in summer and warms up in winter. It's also a building that "teaches."
Since opening in fall 2005, the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies at De Anza College has showcased the application of environmental principles and taught students real-life lessons about energy, resources and stewardship.
"The instructor showed us around in the first week of class, and we learned a lot about how this building saves energy," says Alyssa Longoria, who is taking introduction to environmental studies at De Anza College this quarter.
The Kirsch Center recently won a first-place award for exceptional performance in occupant satisfaction, resource efficiency and overall design from the Center for the Built Environment at UC Berkeley.
The first Livable Buildings Awards recognize commercial buildings that provide comfort for their occupants as well as contribute to energy conservation. The Kirsch Center is one of three equal top winners. The other two are the Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis, Md., and the Global Ecology Research Center for the Carnegie Institution of Washington at Stanford University.
"I'm so happy about this award because it's science-based, unlike most architecture awards that are based on pictures of the buildings," says David Deppen, the design architect of the Kirsch Center.
The two-story Kirsch Center, located near the south entrance to the campus, has walls painted in the colors of whole wheat bread and butter, and window frames in a cream color on the outside. Its interior walls are in slightly varied shades of the same colors.
"Being in the building makes me feel peaceful," says Jocelyn Huynh, a De Anza College student who transferred from UC-Irvine, and changed her major from biological science to environmental studies.
The soft colors do more than create a soothing, nurturing atmosphere. Deppen says interior designers should choose light colors for their ability to "bounce light around" and lessen the need for electrical lighting.
"You can have your cake and eat it, too," says Deppen, describing green buildings as both comfortable and energy-saving.
A notable green feature of the Kirsch Center is its use of natural ways to keep temperatures in a mild range. In summer, harsh afternoon sun is blocked because its west wing has no windows. In winter, when the sun is in a lower position, the sunlight comes through the many windows of the building's south side, hits the cement floor and generates heat.
The sycamore trees in front of the building also help. The leaves block the sun in summer. When winter comes, the leafless branches allow sunlight into the building.
"If you work with nature, you can work less," says Pat Cornely, executive director of the Kirsch Center.
Cornely cites a study that found students improved their English and math scores by 15 percent to 22 percent when taking tests in natural daylight, plenty of which enters the classrooms.
"The environment here helps us to help the environment," says Kennan Lane Lutter, an energy management and climate policy major.
Brian Murphy, president of De Anza College, says enrollment in the college's environmental studies program has increased six-fold in the last three years.
Murphy says commitment to environmental issues has a long history at the school. The idea of a green building for the college's Environmental Studies Department first emerged in the early 1990s. The student government allocated $180,000 in 1999 to hire a design team for the then-unfunded dream project.
The $10 million project was eventually paid for with local bond funds and a $2 million gift from the Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation. The Morgan Family Foundation also gave a $3 million endowment to the Environmental Studies Department.
"We'd like to repay the community's generosity with our contribution to the environment," says Murphy.
Besides the Kirsch Center, the Science Center and the Student and Community Services Building are also green buildings.
"There has been a generalized effort to incorporate sustainability across the campus, of which green building is one element," says Jeanine Hawk, vice president of finance and college services at De Anza College.
Other elements of its environmental effort include recycling 50 percent of its waste stream, banning the use of pesticides on campus, using chemical-free cleaning agents, growing drought-tolerant plants for water conservation and serving locally grown organic food in the cafeteria of the campus center.
Seema Rupani, president of De Anza College's Environmental Club, currently works as a student mentor at the Stewardship Resource Center on the second floor of the Kirsch Center, answering questions and helping other students with their studies.
The environmental stewardship team program of De Anza College started in fall 2006. The new program has a connection with San Jose State University's Bio-diversity Stewardship Program.
According to Cornely, the environmental stewardship team program trains students to be the ones who can bring together all the players in an environmental project. They don't necessarily have to study specialized hard-core science, but the students must have broad knowledge and interpersonal skills. They serve as facilitators of environmental projects.
Some of the students who've graduated from the two-year program are pursuing degrees at SJSU and other universities. Most of those who didn't transfer to a four-year institution are working for nonprofit groups.
In addition to training future employees in the environmental industry, the Environmental Studies Department also welcomes anyone interested in the field to take classes.
Sharon Kidder, who has a dream of building a green home, took the weekend class "Introduction to Green Building" from Deppen, who minimized lecturing and had students do a lot of role-playing and participate in group discussions.
"I wanted to give them hands-on practice," says Deppen, who has been enthusiastic about blending nature and design since he took his first architecture class at Pennsylvania State University more than 30 years ago.
The city of Cupertino is currently running a voluntary green building program and will consider, during a six-month review, whether to make it mandatory.
Vice Mayor Dolly Sandoval, who was on the governing board of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District when the Kirsch Center was approved, calls the center and other environmental achievements at De Anza College "an excellent example of sustainable policies."
Sandoval has met with environmental studies instructors of De Anza College to discuss Cupertino's green building program.
"They are helping to develop some policies and guidelines the city can incorporate," she says.
For more information about the Kirsch Center, visit www.deanza.edu/kirschcenter.
