USMC Quality of Life Facilities Package 4 Receives LEED Gold Certification

The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center's Quality of Life Facilities Package 4 in Twentynine Palms, California, was recently awarded LEED Gold certification. The project reflects a new breed of sustainable, high-performance Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) and dining facilities for the Marine Corps. The BEQ has 192 two-person rooms across three buildings and increases the size of each living/sleeping module by 10% over traditional rooms.

Community spaces and multipurpose buildings for entertainment, laundry, internet cafes and study areas further enhance the living quarters. The 445-seat dining facility provides abundant daylighting, with the orientation of the building offering protection from the often harsh elements. An expanded patio area with canopies and misters gives the Marines an “al fresco” option even during the warmest of days. A landmark, central, 500-seat, open-air amphitheater crowns the complex. Tensile fabric and steel shade structures cover seating for basketball courts that can also be used for training, outdoor movies, and special events.

The project includes numerous sustainable elements, culminating in the USGBC's LEED Gold certification. The overall energy conservation strategy for the project is to maximize thermal efficiency of the building envelope to optimize the photovoltaic system's energy production. Located at all surface parking as well as the top level of the complex's parking garage, PV structures provide shade and reduce the heat island effect on the site while actively producing nearly 1.9 MW hours annually, offsetting 34.2% of total electrical usage. Additional noteworthy sustainable features include: comprehensive stormwater management; drought-tolerant landscape with 100% on-site greywater irrigation; a continuous fresh air supply system; high-performance mechanical units with heat recovery; and water and energy-saving plumbing and lighting fixtures throughout.