flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Hot classrooms, playgrounds spur K-12 school districts to go beyond AC for cooling

Education Facilities

Hot classrooms, playgrounds spur K-12 school districts to go beyond AC for cooling

Reflective playgrounds and roads, cool roofs and window films, shade structures being deployed


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | September 16, 2024
Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay

Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay

With hotter weather occurring during the school year, school districts are turning to cooling strategies to complement air conditioning.

Reflective playgrounds and roads, cool roofs and window films, shade structures and conversion of asphalt surfaces to a natural state are all being tried in various regions of the country. These measures are particularly important to help children cope with extreme heat because they sweat less and are more prone to dehydration than adults.

Some examples:

  • A Los Angeles school district has spent $11.4 million to convert asphalt shingle roofs to white cool roofing since 2017.
  • An Atlanta school received a donation from a roofing manufacturer of a bright blue, solar-reflective coating that reduced the temperature on a basketball court by 10 degrees.
  • Between 2022 and 2023, California granted more than $121 million for schools to replace asphalt or turf or rubber mats with grass, gardens, mulch, and trees.

More projects like those will be necessary if climate-change-induced heat continues to rise as predicted.

Related Stories

ProConnect Events | Jan 16, 2023

6 more BD+C ProConnect Events in 2023 – The videos show why you should participate

ProConnects bring building product manufacturers and suppliers together with architects, contractors, builders, and developers to discuss upcoming projects and learn about new products and technical solutions. 

K-12 Schools | Dec 23, 2022

Vacant Target store in Minnesota turned into early childhood education center

Lincoln School, a former 90,000-sf Target retail store in Fergus Falls, Minn., was repurposed into Independent School District 544’s newest campus.

University Buildings | Dec 22, 2022

Loyola Marymount University completes a new home for its acclaimed School of Film and Television

California’s Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has completed two new buildings for arts and media education at its Westchester campus. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television, which is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 10 film schools. Also designed by SOM, the open-air Drollinger Family Stage is an outdoor lecture and performance space.

Adaptive Reuse | Dec 21, 2022

University of Pittsburgh reinvents century-old Model-T building as a life sciences research facility

After opening earlier this year, The Assembly recently achieved LEED Gold certification, aligning with the school’s and community’s larger sustainability efforts.

Sponsored | Resiliency | Dec 14, 2022

Flood protection: What building owners need to know to protect their properties

This course from Walter P Moore examines numerous flood protection approaches and building owner needs before delving into the flood protection process. Determining the flood resilience of a property can provide a good understanding of risk associated costs.

HVAC | Dec 13, 2022

Energy Management Institute launches online tool to connect building owners with HVAC contractors

The National Energy Management Institute Inc. (NEMI) along with the Biden administration’s Better Air in Buildings website have rolled out a resource to help building owners and managers, school districts, and other officials find HVAC contractors.

Student Housing | Dec 7, 2022

Cornell University builds massive student housing complex to accommodate planned enrollment growth

In Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University has completed its North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE) project. Designed by ikon.5 architects, the 776,000-sf project provides 1,200 beds for first-year students and 800 beds for sophomore students. The NCRE project aimed to accommodate the university’s planned growth in student enrollment while meeting its green infrastructure standards. Cornell University plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.

University Buildings | Dec 5, 2022

Florida Polytechnic University unveils its Applied Research Center, furthering its mission to provide STEM education

In Lakeland, Fla., located between Orlando and Tampa, Florida Polytechnic University unveiled its new Applied Research Center (ARC). Designed by HOK and built by Skanska, the 90,000-sf academic building houses research and teaching laboratories, student design spaces, conference rooms, and faculty offices—furthering the school’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) mission.

Education Facilities | Nov 30, 2022

10 ways to achieve therapeutic learning environments

Today’s school should be much more than a place to learn—it should be a nurturing setting that celebrates achievements and responds to the challenges of many different users.

K-12 Schools | Nov 30, 2022

School districts are prioritizing federal funds for air filtration, HVAC upgrades

U.S. school districts are widely planning to use funds from last year’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) to upgrade or improve air filtration and heating/cooling systems, according to a report from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council. The report, “School Facilities Funding in the Pandemic,” says air filtration and HVAC upgrades are the top facility improvement choice for the 5,004 school districts included in the analysis.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


University Buildings

Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences opens a new 88-acre campus

Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences has opened a new campus spanning 88 acres, over three times larger than its previous location. Designed by RDG Planning & Design and built by Turner Construction, the $260 million campus features technology-rich, flexible educational spaces that promote innovative teaching methods, expand research activity, and enhance clinical services. The campus includes four buildings connected with elevated pathways and totaling 382,000 sf. 



Museums

UT Dallas opens Morphosis-designed Crow Museum of Asian Art

In Richardson, Tex., the University of Texas at Dallas has opened a second location for the Crow Museum of Asian Art—the first of multiple buildings that will be part of a 12-acre cultural district. When completed, the arts and performance complex, called the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, will include two museums, a performance hall and music building, a grand plaza, and a dedicated parking structure on the Richardson campus.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021