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Cathy Summa-Wolfe, Director
Communications & Community Relations
415-485-9528

At COM’s Diamond PE Center Going Green Means Earning LEED Gold

Kentfield, CA—April 19, 2010—College of Marin officials learned last week that the newly modernized Irwin P. Diamond Physical Education Center has earned LEED Gold.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for all involved in our modernization efforts and a great testament to the leadership and vision of our Board of Trustees who made green building a high priority,” said COM Superintendent/President Dr. Frances L. White.

The “greenness” of a building is evaluated by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Building Rating System developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED certification is determined by a credit system, with credits given for each environmentally sound construction or operational process. The newly refurbished Diamond PE Center earned a high gold designation receiving 47 total LEED credits. The range of credits needed for gold certification is from 39 to 51.

COM's Diamond PE Center

The Diamond Physical Education Center earned high points for optimizing energy performance in the new facility, which is now generating about 50 percent of its own electricity from a photo voltaic array, using solar thermal power to heat water, and includes other energy saving features in its new mechanical systems.

COM earned additional LEED credits for a number of environmentally friendly features, including:

  • Light pollution reduction
  • Water efficient landscaping
  • Water use reduction
  • Construction waste management for diverting 3,579 tons of construction waste from landfills to receiving agencies for recycling
  • Using 11 percent recycled materials in construction
  • Innovation in design for instituting a comprehensive transportation management plan

Achieving a high LEED designation is no small feat. Much praise for achieving LEED gold for the new center goes to the design, construction, and management teams that completed the project, including Kwan Henmi Architecture, San Francisco, CA; Alten Construction, Richmond, CA; Swinerton Management & Consulting, San Francisco, CA; and COM’s own Director of Modernization V-Anne Chernock. “We, the Board of Trustees, are thrilled with the LEED GOLD certification/recognition and are so very proud of the work and commitment to sustainability by our entire leadership team, Dr. White, staff, faculty, and administration. Special thanks and appreciation are extended to our Marin Community who gently urged and enabled us to move assertively in this direction," said COM Board of Trustees President Dr. Eva Long. “Big kudos goes out to all involved.”
 
The original Diamond Physical Education Center was built in 1965, after the first physical education center building burned down. The building was named in honor of Irwin P. “Red” Diamond, who came to College of Marin as a young coach in 1947 and went on to become the president of the college in 1974. Diamond retired from the college in 1984 but stayed involved with the college and was the keynote speaker for the grand reopening of the center in October 2009. Diamond passed away in January 2010.

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