Community College Journal - October/November 2011

when New York’s westchester Community College (wCC) unveiled plans for the college’s Gateway Center, the goal was to create a sustainable building that would serve as a crossroads for the local business and education communities. with an emphasis on workforce and English language education, the center would be a beacon of opportunity for community members committed to improving their lives.

Since it opened in 2010, the 70,000-square-foot, Gold LEEd-certified structure, which features sustainable design technology and open collaborative learning spaces, has become a destination for students and community members alike.

“we conceptualized a building that would respond to our need for more classroom and student space, but also focus very deliberately on serving the needs of the immigrant population and the workforce,” says Teresita wisell, associate dean for the center.

Administrators say the environmentally friendly building has helped the college maximize its return on investment while providing more options for teaching and learning.

Used largely as a classroom and faculty office building during the week, the Gateway Center has the potential to double on the weekends and after hours as a conference center where local business leaders and other stakeholders can gather to share ideas and interact with students.

“There are any number of different opportunities to live and learn in the building, whether it’s on a bench in the hallway, outside on a sort of patio café where students can eat their lunch seven months out of the year, or in common spaces on the third floor,” explains wisell.

Susan Rodriguez, design partner with New York-based Ennead Architects and lead designer on the Gateway Center project, says the decision to erect a sustainable building on campus is a complex process anchored in need.

Though sustainable design features, such as energy-efficient day-lit buildings and water-based air-cooling systems, are sometimes seen as a way to lower utility bills, it’s important to remember that adding square footage to your existing campus footprint will increase operating costs. Rather than focus on potential savings first, Rodriguez says wCC concentrated on defining program objectives and making the best use of space.

Gateway Center, Westchester Community
College, Valhalla, N. Y.

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PhOTO ©ESTO PhOTOGRAPhICS; ARChITECT: ENNEAd ARChITECTS

Flexible Design during the design process, as costs were evaluated, the project was scaled back from original projections of 90,000 square feet to 70,000 square feet. The design team used the opportunity to re-examine the way the spaces were programmed. The inclusion of seating within slightly wider corridors turned traditional hallways into collaborative meeting spaces. An open floor plan that bridged the use of indoor and outdoor space created an environment where learning and collaboration could happen anywhere on the property. Strategic day lighting gave instructors plenty of options for where to find those teachable moments.

“Not everything has to have four walls around it and not every office has to be an enclosed office,” says Rodriguez. “In carefully evaluating the various aspects of the program, we were able to create a building that responded more closely to the needs of the college and its sustainability objectives.”