Diablo Valley College New College Bookstore, Pleasant Hill, CA

Initially a single stand alone project, Gerard Lee, AIA, as project manager used his intimate knowledge of the campus and his background as an instructor to propose that a masterplan approach be used in the best interest of the campus. DVC liked the master plan approach and awarded the remodel of the adjacent Student Activities/ cafeteria building housing their Hotel and Restaurant Management program to BSA. A joint use loading dock facility was created to efficiently service both buildings. The central quad was cleaned up and pedestrian safety improved. The Bookstore is approximately 16,500sf. It consist of two levels plus a basement storage facility attached to the loading dock. The sales floor is double height with skylights and a large north facing curtain wall for natural day lighting. A walkway runs along the curtain wall and creates a natural study/ seating area for students to look out over the "quad" while enjoying a latte. The latest design trends in retail sales were incorporated to help the bookstore increase sales. A convenience store was designed as part of the facility to enable students to access non academic supplies during the weekends. A cafe/ coffee bar was intergrated within the store. Canopies are used extensively on the west and south facades to protect students who queue up for returns and buyback.
All deadlines were met and the project was efficiently stewarded through the DSA (Division of State Architect) review process because of Gerard's strong experience in educational facilities within the state of California, his attention to detail and reputation for doing consistent quality work. DSA reviewers for accessibility and structure had praised the documentation of the building for its quality. A significant comment overheard was, "These are one of the good guys."

Sustainable design features:
While the building has a modern vocabulary there are many sustainable/ "green" design features utilized throughout the building. Optimum site orientation that meets functionality and energy performance. The large north facing windows allow in natural daylighting which in turn creates a pleasant environment to work or shop in. We believe that this will help increase sales as opposed to retail facilities that rely largely on artificial/ electrical lighting. The building was carefully sited so that the natural grades and landscaping will shield the north facing windows from the summer setting sun. In addition there are large 4'x4' insulated translucent skylights that help bring in diffuse daylight into the interior recesses of the store. Research has shown that retail facilities with higher levels of daylighting tend to have a higher sales level in comparison with similar outlets with no daylighting. The retail level has stained and sealed concrete floors (which also utilize flyash as a recycled material). Glazing was minimized on the western face of the building to limit heat gain and to lower the buildings energy consumption. The low slope roof has a low albedo roofing system to cut down on solar heat gain. The loading dock/storage area is constructed from concrete and partialy buried to create a heat sink. This will help temper the building's micro climate/ ecosystem.
To view construction photos of the bookstore, please click on this link.
This is a © BSA Architects project.