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In This Issue
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| by David High Green Design has become part of how we live.LEED is a household word.Vegetated roofs, rain gardens and recycled content - terms that once drew skepticism - are now de rigueur.But no school building can be truly energy efficient unless it is part of the functioning, livable community it serves. Existing neighborhoods are important.By holding memories, they create stability and continuity.And while it's true that older construction may not be as efficient as modern methods, it certainly has a green component. How?Embodied energy.This term refers to all the energy that was used to construct the building.A brick, for example, has the embodied energy of the fuel required to mine the clay, fire it and transport it to the job site.After you consider the amount of energy held in one brick, imagine how much is held in an entire city block.Clearly, making existing neighborhoods work efficiently and to their full potential is sound environmental policy. This month we look at four infill projects.Not only do these new schools reduce energy use through smart construction techniques, they conserve the embodied energy of existing neighborhoods by integrating with them.Several even incorporate multiple services into one project.This strategy saves time, energy, materials and money by allowing one new building to serve the role of many.And by generating a constant flow of diverse users, multipurpose buildings cultivate vibrant, healthy communities. Our first project is a marriage of the old and new.By using the time honored meth ods of passive solar gain and the chimney effect, the Sølvgades School in Copenhagen, Denmark bolsters new, efficient technology.Avoiding the pollution of the street, fresh air is pulled and preheated from the rear of the building.A double glazed façade completes the circulation, exhausting air to the street with a natural chimney effect.In addition to ventilation, this double glazing serves triple duty as it dampens street noise and serves as a solar screen.Using these and other methods, the building uses an impressively low 68 kwh/m2/year. Designed by C.F. Moller Architects, the school is a good neighbor. Considering not only its own natural lighting needs, the building preserves the light for surrounding buildings. This thoughtfulness continues through the rest of its form. While maintaining its modern sensibilities, the building borrows colors, proportions and references from the historic surroundings. The structure respects existing patterns by changing rooflines to connect a historic side street building to façades on the other side of the block. |
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| Where the Sølvgades School sought to integrate with a functioning urban fabric, the architects of the South Region Elementary School #10 in South Los Angeles were given the task of creating it.Architect Betsey Olenick Dougherty, FAIA, states "In an area with few community-based resources, this project has been envisioned as a place for children and families to learn, to recreate, and to meet."A dedicated public entrance that can be used outside of regular school hours allows the larger community access to a multipurpose room with stage, kitchen and restrooms.A shared library/resource center serves both the school and larger community, as do hard top and turf play areas.By incorporating all these amenities into a small site, this school demonstrates the economy of well considered, shared resources. By sharing space and avoiding the waste of redundant infrastructure this school lays a common sense foundation for the green technologies incorporated into the building's design.  From using local materials and diverting construction waste from landfills, to utilizing energy-efficient lighting and plumbing fixtures, the building is full of green details that parallel LEED guidelines.Prepared for the future, the design allows for future solar panels by studying shadow lines and maintenance paths.These details add up: by meeting the goals of the CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) and qualifying for the LADWP Savings by Design incentive program, reduced utility fees will see long term savings. Travelling north to Oakland, the 123,000 square-foot Downtown Educational Complex also maximizes the economy of a multipurpose building.The school is re-imagined as part of a larger "community center",  which also includes a health clinic, state of the art district information technology data center and a studio for a district wide television station.Even a community garden has been incorporated into the campus, allowing neighbors to grow their own food.Robert Simons, AIA, principal of MVEI, which is designing the school, states: "Oakland's vision for unifying communities through multipurpose educational environments is the wave of the future."  The design itself embodies aspects of the larger community to which it belongs.
Just as a community is comprised of smaller pieces, so is the complex an assembly of schools. Incorporating a 360 student K-5 elementary school, a 180 student high school and a 168 student child care center, the combination is centered on a common area including cafeteria, gymnasium and multi-use space with a stage. To mitigate the large campus, each school has a distinct entrance. |
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Featured Designer Professionals
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| In northwest Washington, D.C., the LEED certified Walker Jones Pre-K -8 School brings a safe learning environment into a neighborhood with a history of high-crime and poverty.Architects at Hord Copland Macht used to concepts of "porosity" and "protection" when considering the building's form.By bordering three edges of the site, the building creates a "protective" courtyard. Careful selection  and placement of windows and other "porous" elements helps the school fit into the neighborhood context, and a shared 20,000 square-foot Community Recreation Center and Public Library make this a truly community oriented building. 
From Copenhagen to California to Washington, D.C., savvy cities are recognizing a paradigm shift.Green design is no longer limited to insulation, recycling and solar panels.From gardens to libraries, and health clinics to community centers, schools are breathing new life into old neighborhoods. |
Online judging of the Schooldesigner and Collegedesigner Collabetition entries will begin mid-January. Watch for posts atwww.Schooldesigner.com!
The Collabetition is sponsored by Pella and Excel:  
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Click on the logos for more information. |
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Featured Designer Elements
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Go To Collegedesigner.com for quality higher education designs!
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| This month we are featuring:
HUFCOR, Operable Partitions |
Create flexible classrooms, gymnasiums, stages, or meeting areas with quality Hufcor operable partitions. Attractive and durable, folding walls control sound and enable facilities to easily reconfigure rooms as space needs change. An array of finishes and options allows you to design the walls to meet decor and functional requirements. Consider using the new glass partitions or operable partitions with windows. Both products allow light into rooms and educators to monitor students. |
PAST ARTICLES
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Library Design: Part 1 New Approaches Meet Students' Needs |
Library Design: Part 2 Facilities and Programs |  |
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"Designer Elements" | "Architecture for Humanity" | |
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| Greenpiece May Article | Greenpiece February Article | |
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