September 2010 marked the grand opening for Richardsville Elementary, the First Net-Zero Insulated Concrete Form School in the U.S. Warren County School district, the school board responsible for Richardsville, has been building energy efficient schools that are being recognized for their innovation across the United States. Designed by Sherman Carter Barnhart and located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Richardsville was created to be a two-story, energy efficient structure that incorporated renewable materials and NUDURA insulated concrete forms for a superior building envelope.
The design and northsouth site orientation allowed the school to maximize the use of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, so that it can produce more energy than it consumes. It’s a popular topic when it comes to a structure’s carbon footprint, its effect on human health, and its high-energy costs. Research provides evidence that schools throughout North America are moving toward greener and healthier building solutions and the demand for energy performance has become increasingly more important.
At 72,285 sq. ft. and generating its own energy, Richardsville is the next generation of educational building standards and a valuable tool to educate students on energy and water conservation as well as the value of recycling.
The concerns associated with designing a net-zero structure are usually cost, time, and the best eco-friendly building solution available. In order to meet this list of demands the Warren County School Board decided to use NUDURA, an industry-leading manufacturer in ICF construction, to maximize the structure’s energy performance and minimize energy costs. The result was a high-performance building envelope using NUDURA forms for the interior and exterior walls.
NUDURA provides a highly insulated concrete wall made up of EPS foam connected by a web that is reinforced with steel and filled with concrete. The walls come in a variety of sizes ranging from 4” to 12” concrete cores and provide performance values as high as R-50.
The benefits of using the NUDURA wall system for this structure were its superior strength, maximum energy efficiency, eco-friendly materials, sound and fire resistance, design flexibility, speed of the construction process, and EPS foam that doesn’t support mold growth. The performance value of NUDURA forms used in structures, like Richardsville, can generate energy savings up to 70% annually. Richardsville Elementary is designed to use only 18 kBtu/sq. ft.— 75 percent less than the ASHRAE 90.1 Design Standard for elementary schools annually.
The 500 students attending the Richardsville net-zero school will enjoy a healthy, eco-friendly learning environment that sets the standard high to future generations looking to build sustainable educational institutions. Architects and builders are always looking for solid strategies that reduce energy demands, carbon footprints, and operational costs. The important thing is to have a strategy and a building product that makes the switch to “green” simple. As a key component to the overall building aspect of the Richardsville net-zero project, NUDURA has met and exceeded those highly demanded qualities and continues to help to make “green” schools a possibility for your community.
NUDURA Inc.
27 Hooper Rd, Unit 10
Barrie, ON L4N 9S3
866-468-6299
info@nudura.com
www.nudura.com
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Tower commemorates Lewis & Clark’s historic expedition
The $4.8 million Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford, Ill., commemorates explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark at the point where their trek to the Pacific Ocean began—the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Sep 13, 2010
Community college police, parking structure targets LEED Platinum
The San Diego Community College District's $1.555 billion construction program continues with groundbreaking for a 6,000-sf police substation and an 828-space, four-story parking structure at San Diego Miramar College.
| Sep 13, 2010
Conquering a Mountain of Construction Challenges
Brutal winter weather, shortages of materials, escalating costs, occasional visits from the local bear population-all these were joys this Building Team experienced working a new resort high up in the Sierra Nevada.
| Aug 11, 2010
McHugh completes ultra-lux Capella Telluride hotel in Colorado
James McHugh Construction Co. has completed the new Capella Telluride hotel and condominium resort in Telluride, Colo., the first U.S. property for the new ultra-luxury Capella Hotels brand. Positioned to compete with the elite levels of luxury brands, the Capella Telluride features complex stone, stucco and wood exterior, heavy timber construction, and an abundance of high-level finishes and amenities.
| Aug 11, 2010
Bovis Lend Lease, Webcor among nation's largest multifamily contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Multifamily Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner edges out Perkins+Will for the top spot on BD+C's Top 200 Building Team LEED APs ranking
With 1,006 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff, Turner Construction took the top spot on Building Design+Construction’s 2009 ranking of AEC firms with the most LEED APs, published as part of the Giants 300 report. Turner added more than 580 LEED APs during the past year to surpass Perkins+Will, which held the top spot four years running.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
