Placer County Community Development Resources Center

Lehmberg conceived of the two-story Placer County Community Development Resource Center as an informal yet stately building that anchors the northwest corner of the DeWitt Government Center in Auburn, California. Designed to bring the six County agencies involved in land planning and development together, the 97,400-square-foot facility encourages agency collaboration and customer service. The building design focuses on functionality for the inhabitants and flexibility of the space for the lifetime of the building. Housing so many agencies under one big umbrella required a significant synthesis of a broad spectrum of job activities to determine a layout that accommodated a plethora of specific needs in an efficient way. Lots of light, warm materials, and clustering of public areas created an elevating atmosphere of hospitality.

Working with energy conservation as a top priority, the building orientation and configuration were optimized to reduce solar impact and preserve existing mature trees. Energy-conserving features were incorporated everywhere possible- through the building’s construction to long term operation. To Lehmberg’s excitement, the building exceeded California’s Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards by 44%. For this accomplishment, the project won the 2006 PG&E Savings by Design Award.

Project Designer for Williams + Paddon