Rachlin Partners

Owner:

Long Beach Community College District

Architect:

Rachlin Partners

General Contractor:

Soltek Pacific

Scope Of Work

Designed in the “International Style” of Modern architecture that humanizes a curriculum rooted in machinery, Long Beach City College's Industrial Technology Center serves the Welding, Machine Tooling, and Architecture departments with multi-media educational spaces, a computer skills/study center, labs, and specialized facilities for welding and machine tools. The emphasis on glass and exposed steel structures is aesthetically pleasing and representative of the building’s industrial function. It also maximizes natural daylight within the building and, consequently, reduces energy use.

To ensure good indoor air quality and occupant comfort – key considerations given the potential health and safety hazards of industrial equipment – high ceilings, a “Dust Hog,” and operable windows were incorporated in the design to provide appropriate ventilation and evacuation of heat, gases, and dust from the machine shop. Rows of spandrel glass have also been incorporated to reduce the amount of heat generated by sunlight. For the exterior, metal panels and dramatic night lighting contribute to the ITC’s industrial appearance, while landscaping provides a natural contrast through a tree-shaded “quad” with benches and grassy areas for students to use as gathering places.

The Industrial Technology Center received a Spring 2011 Outstanding Award from Learning By Design magazine and was selected as an Outstanding Project for the August 2011 issue of American School & University.