Net-zero may seem beyond the budgets of most K-12 school districts, but a couple of trailblazers have found the means to construct schools designed to produce as much power as they use.
The new $20 million, 88,693-sf Colonel Smith Middle School in Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., takes daylighting to the highest level. Every regularly occupied space has a window, skylight, or clerestory glazing for layered daylighting. To hold down the cooling load, the building obtains most of its sunlight from the north sky through clerestory windows. On the south exterior wall, exterior overhangs prevent direct solar exposure in the summer, while allowing passive solar heating in winter. Locker rooms and other support spaces have shaded high-wall translucent fiberglass panels to provide privacy. Lighting energy use is expected to be 80% less than that of a standard school building.
Energy is recovered from locker room exhaust to pre-heat or pre-cool supply air delivered to locker rooms. Solar panels heat domestic water for locker rooms and the kitchen. PVs were obtained through a power purchase agreement. “We didn’t have net-zero in mind when we were starting out,” notes Dr. Ronda Frueauff, Superintendent of the Ft. Huachuca Accommodation School District. That changed as the design committee evaluated the affordability of each green element. Only geothermal was ruled out as cost-prohibitive.
Geothermal is, however, a key component of the Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, with 530 geothermal wells and 105 water-source heat pumps. The school is powered by 2,988 rooftop solar panels and 12 wind turbines. Opened in August 2011, the $29 million, 152,000-sf school cost about 12% more to build than one of traditional construction. School officials expect to recoup their investment in 10-12 years.
“We didn’t have net-zero in mind when we were starting out.”
--Dr. Ronda Frueauff, Superintendent of the Ft. Huachuca Accommodation School District.
Both schools incorporate green features into lesson plans. The Texas school features museum-type displays along the main hallway highlighting geothermal, solar, and wind technology, along with water efficiency. Students can get a close-up view of the PVs from a roof observation deck.
Getting to net-zero is not easy, but the promise of eliminating energy bills and using state-of-the-art technology as a learning lab can make a compelling case to reach for net-zero. +
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Installation work begins on Minnesota's largest green roof
Installation of the 2.5 acre green roof vegetation on the City-owned Target Center begins today. Over the course of two days a 165 ton crane will hoist five truckloads of plant material, which includes 900 rolls of pre-grown vegetated mats of sedum and native plants for installation on top of the arena's main roof.
| Aug 11, 2010
AASHE releases annual review of sustainability in higher education
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has announced the release of AASHE Digest 2008, which documents the continued rapid growth of campus sustainability in the U.S. and Canada. The 356-page report, available as a free download on the AASHE website, includes over 1,350 stories that appeared in the weekly AASHE Bulletin last year.
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, Arup, Gensler most active in commercial building design, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Commercial Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA approves Sika Sarnafil’s continuing education courses offering sustainable design credits
Two continuing education courses offered by Sika Sarnafil have been approved by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and are now certified to fulfill the AIA’s new Sustainable Design continuing education requirements.
| Aug 11, 2010
HNTB, Arup, Walter P Moore among SMPS National Marketing Communications Awards winners
The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) is pleased to announce the 2009 recipients of the 32nd Annual National Marketing Communications Awards (MCA). This annual competition is the longest-standing, most prestigious awards program recognizing excellence in marketing and communications by professional services firms in the design and building industry.
| Aug 11, 2010
'Flexible' building designed to physically respond to the environment
The ecoFLEX project, designed by a team from Shepley Bulfinch, has won a prestigious 2009 Unbuilt Architecture Design Award from the Boston Society of Architects. EcoFLEX features heat-sensitive assemblies composed of a series of bi-material strips. The assemblies’ form modulate with the temperature to create varying levels of shading and wind shielding, flexing when heated to block sunlight and contracting when cooled to allow breezes to pass through the screen.
| Aug 11, 2010
New book provides energy efficiency guidance for hotels
Recommendations on achieving 30% energy savings over minimum code requirements are contained in the newly published Advanced Energy Design Guide for Highway Lodging. The energy savings guidance for design of new hotels provides a first step toward achieving a net-zero-energy building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Perkins+Will master plans Vedanta University teaching hospital in India
Working together with the Anil Agarwal Foundation, Perkins+Will developed the master plan for the Medical Precinct of a new teaching hospital in a remote section of Puri, Orissa, India. The hospital is part of an ambitious plan to develop this rural area into a global center of education and healthcare that would be on par with Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.
| Aug 11, 2010
Burt Hill, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest university design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 University Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
