City of San Jose, Alum Rock Youth Center

The Alum Rock Youth Center exposes young adults to positive adult role models who are ready and trained to engage them in programs and events that will both enrich their lives and help them grow.

The facility houses a state-of-the-art computer room with wireless technology donated by 3Com. The lounge has clubby overstuffed sofas and chairs in solid and print rust, blue and yellow upholstery.

These rooms also share a unique passive ventilation system which draws outdoor air into the rooms through louvered panels. The louvers even allow cool nighttime air to be drawn into the building overnight without jeopardizing the security of the facility.

The Alum Rock Youth Center project was designed to meet LEED Silver equivalency. The project incorporate sustainable ideas such as natural daylighting, natural ventilation through convection, lighting systems that generate their own power, double thick block walls that keep the building well insulated, as well as natural landscaping that uses native plants to conserve water.

Rudolph and Sletten provided preconstruction and construction management services for the new construction of the Alum Rock Youth Center. The general construction of the entire complex consisted of braced frame and concrete masonry walls supported by a combination spread footing/slab-on-grade foundation. The typical interior finishes consisted of wood, carpet, and vinyl composition tile flooring and painted concrete masonry walls. The roof construction throughout is built-up and metal roofing on a steel truss framing system; the roof system is also accented by a glass clerestory system.