Green Design Firm's Efforts to Improve Local Communities Gains Award-Winning Respect

Roseville, Calif. (Vocus) June 1, 2009 -- Known for their pioneering, sustainable building contributions, green design firm LPA, Inc (http://www.lpainc.com/lpa/content/bio) is honored with two awards for outstanding and out-of-the-box designs. The California Parks and Recreation Society (http://www.cprs.org/) esteemed to Gauche Aquatic Park in Yuba City an award of excellence in facility design for aquatic facilities. The Redding Library in Redding, Calif., is also recognized with a citation award by the American Institute of Architects, Central Valley Chapter (http://www.aiacv.org/) as part of their 2009 design awards program.

ABOUT GAUCHE AQUATIC PARK (http://www.lpainc.com/design/project/192/Gauche_Aquatic_Park)

As the region's premier aquatic venue, Gauche Aquatic Park is a nine-acre community park and aquatic facility. The public pools and park boast a 10,000-square-foot building with enclosed reception area, multipurpose rooms, men and women's locker areas and concession area, a 25-yard x 25-yard-10-lap competitive pool, an activity pool with a water play structure that goes from zero to three feet with a "splash ground", a 24-square-foot, state-of-the-art waterslide, picnic areas and trails. The $14 million project was completed in October 2007.

"The city had a clear vision of what their residents wanted and our design team was able to translate that into a remarkable project," said Landscape Design Principal Kevin Sullivan. "We worked collaboratively and imaginatively to create an eco-friendly, well-designed aquatic center and park space for this community."

Other Awards

Aquatics International - 2008 Dream Design Award (http://www.aquaticsintl.com/2008/dreamdesigns/gauche.html)

ABOUT REDDING LIBRARY (http://www.lpainc.com/design/project/146/Redding_Library)

Designed in the spirit of cooperation between the city of Redding, and County of Shasta, this 55,000-square-foot, two-story, joint-use library is intended to serve as a living lesson in sustainability and ways to save energy. Among its many library amenities the building also features a 7,000-square-foot vegetated roof visible from the main reading room on the second floor, an ice-harvesting system, photovoltaic power, thermal energy storage, extensive use of recycled materials and a building signage system throughout the facility to enhance the sustainable learning experience for library patrons. The $14 million library was constructed in 18 months and opened in February 2007.

"The library is designed to change and grow with the community as well as the county," notes LPA Design Principal Rick D'Amato. "The reduction of the reliance on local power and the use of smart, green design practices will assure the longevity of library operations by reducing operating and maintenance costs."

ABOUT LPA

Founded in 1965, LPA has more than 225 employees with offices in Irvine, Roseville and San Diego, Calif., LPA provides services in architecture, engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, planning, signage and graphics. They have more LEED-certified buildings (http://www.lpainc.com/sustain/content/pioneers) than any firm in the state and more than 70 percent of their employees are LEED accredited professionals.

With extensive experience in public and private architecture, LPA designs a diversity of facilities that span from civic and corporate establishments to K-12 schools, colleges and universities. Their passion for civic design (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BystHDJhII) manifests itself in more than 60 projects, 15 of which were completed during the past five years and received 25 awards for excellence in design.

###