Brick by Brick – The Awards Stack Up for County Buildings

Las Colinas Women's Detention FacilityTwo new County building projects are winners when it comes to the San Diego chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).   

During the Annual Design Awards ceremony Oct. 30, HMC and KMD Architects won a Merit Award, the second highest award in its category, for interiors at the Las Colinas Women’s Detention and Reentry Facility in Santee. The facility was the first design-build project under the State’s AB900 Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007, and was previously recognized by the national American Institute of Architects for its design in 2013.

Las Colinas Women's Detention FacilityThe 1,215 bed detention facility is located on a 45-acre campus and modeled on a community college concept. The facility is designed to support and reinforce the program-intensive custody model of personal growth and responsibility to help rehabilitate inmates so they can transition back into the community. The facility was also built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Gold standards for energy efficiency and sustainability. 

Lincoln Acres LibraryThe AIA recognized the new Lincoln Acres Library in National City too. Safdie Rabines Architects won a Special Recognition award under the Foundation Projects Institutional category. The branch was the smallest County library at only 854 square feet until it was replaced with a structure triple the size. The new facility opened in January 2013 and features soaring ceilings and expansive windows that bathe the interior with natural light and views to the community park next to it. The structure also boasts solar panels, motion sensor lighting and sustainably-harvested wood. The facility won LEED Gold certification.

The total number of LEED-certified County buildings is now at 46 accounting for 849,575 square feet, or approximately 11 percent of County building area.