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Crissy Field Center exterior at Crissy Field East Beach. Credit : Green Building. Project FROG. Illustration: Transparent House Inc.
Right across from one of the most popular beaches of San Francisco, local families will soon discover the new home of their favorite center to experience the outdoors. On February 6, 2010, the Crissy Field Center will open its new interim facility at Crissy Field East Beach, a model of green building aimed at harmonizing user experience and eco-features. Over more than 7,200 square feet, the building includes a science lab, a media lab, a youth leadership room, a sustainable arts room and a Beach Hut snack bar much in the spirit of the beloved Warming Hut Cafe & Bookstore.
This project will help to connect youth with green technology, a great community-driven example in the parks system. At the pivotal point of this experiment is Project FROG (Flexible Response to Smart Growth), a company that specializes in modular school buildings and that partnered with the National Parks Service (NPS), the Parks Conservancy, the Presidio Trust and Caltrans.
Think of the new center as a Lego kit with eco-friendly prefab. The building is composed of a structural steel frame to which wall and roof panels are added. Each module includes a spine and two wing sections and is connected internally to other modules. This design allows for flexibility and reflects the variety of the center's needs.
"The building is smartly designed," says Michele Gee, deputy director Programs and Partnerships at the Crissy Field Center, adding that some of the green features will be included in the center's programs. In fact, Project FROG along with the Crissy Field Center staff have been working on developing an educational curriculum around sustainability that uses the building as a resource and model – "the ultimate 'teaching tool',” says Nikki Tankursley of Project FROG.
For instance, students from Galileo High School will use a carbon dioxide monitor at the center to detect the real time levels of the gas in the classroom, data they will use to discuss greenhouse gases, the natural sources and human induced sources. Climate change doesn't get any more real.
"We are also working on getting a real time monitoring system for our electricity and water use," says Charity Maybury, specialist in urban ecology at the Crissy Field Center. The building's green features will also be great conversation starters with students.
Indeed, unlike most green buildings vying for the LEED Gold Status, this one was built in 4 months and can be repurposed to fit the park's needs. How's that for flexibility? Built from the ground up on a cement slab with 35% recycled content, the center features cool eco-features throughout.
Outside, the siding of the building combines reclaimed and re-milled redwood from the Victorian-era Cal Park Hill Railway Tunnel in Marin with orange-colored EcoClad, a product that mixes bamboo fibers and recycled paper. A rainscreen wall system creates an air gap between the siding and the building to improve the resistance to mold.
Inside, low-emittance (Low-E) windows reflect heat away from the building when it's sunny and insulate the building year-round. The light fixtures are connected to occupancy and daylight sensors that determine if someone is in the room, then how much light is required. The acoustic and thermal insulation derives from recycled denim - blue jeans, in other words. The list goes on.
"This park is very cutting edge in lots of ways," says Kelli Y. English, Community Outreach Special at the NPS. Stay tuned to find out what the first kids to visit will have to say on this Rolls Royce of green buildings - and to discover what the opening events have in store for you.
For more info: Crissy Field Center, 1199 East Beach, Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129.
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