Southeast : Gas Company Showcase Is Part Space Age, Part Scrap Yard

Junkyard chic and high-tech cool, Southern California Gas. Co.’s new Energy Resource Center practices what it preaches: Don’t squander the Earth’s precious resources.

The floor of its lobby is made of wood scavenged from a condemned San Francisco warehouse. Old windows live as a glass countertop. Discarded aluminum aircraft panels cover a wall.

Motorized reflectors on the roof shoot sunshine down skylights, while digital sensors inside act in concert, dimming and brightening efficient fluorescent lights. The roof--and just about every other inch of the building’s exterior--is bathed in reflective white, and double-pane windows contain argon to keep out heat and make the job of high-tech air conditioners easier.

The futuristic, $7.9-million building in Downey is the gas company’s showcase for energy-saving technology. It opened in April and already is drawing accolades; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named it one of 24 “showcase” buildings across the country.

The center uses an estimated 45% less energy than comparable buildings without the space-age treatment, an EPA official estimated. Reduced energy consumption translates into reduced air pollution, a prime objective of the EPA.

“Everything you see about the building is geared to make it more energy efficient,” said the EPA’s LaMont A. Noble, who would like to see the nation’s building owners adopt similar measures.