BREATHING NEW LIFE

Westbourne Grammer School, Melbourne, Australia: Thermal chimneys and an underground rainwater tank revolutionize this 1981 laboratory building. Fresh air is cooled by manifolds in the underground tank and induced through the building's louvered glazed partitions by thermal chimneys.

The original concrete structure was stripped back to expose thermal mass for improved cooling and heating performance. Rainwater recycling, natural day lighting, photo-voltaics, low-energy lights and ceiling-mounted hydronic heating panels coordinate for frugal energy usage with high levels of comfort.

This project demonstrates the exciting possibilities for renovation projects where there are significant ways of improving environmental sustainability in outdated buildings. Recycling the embodied energy of an existing building for new needs is a highly effective way of minimizing waste of our precious global resources.

Juror Bill Bradley (architect and educator) responds, "Now we're talking! This element is an interesting and intriguing addition to the facade of the building that prompts the viewer to ask 'Why?' Even better, it has an answer! The coupling of harvested water with solar panels on thermal chimneys to create a building-wide stack effect may be nothing short of brilliant."

GREEN TOUCH SCREEN

by The Miller | Hull Partnership

Bertschi School (preK-5), Seattle, WA: In this school, a high degree of environmental consciousness among the children has been fostered by the teachers. Therefore, all of the sustainable features and systems of this new building, including photovoltaic (PV) energy, natural ventilation, rain water cisterns, cotton insulation, and recycled materials, are recorded and made available to the children as part of the curriculum through a "green" touch screen in the lobby and on the web.

Juror Dan Neelands provides the following insight: "One aspect that I found to be quite valuable and unique to school design is the concept of "greenwashing." Lately, many projects attempt to be green by decorating themselves. Some of the popular rating systems allow you to buy points by purchasing green accessories and bolting them to a project. For the first time I saw that as a positive thing. The Bertschi school is decorated with green touches throughout, which might make little difference in the overall performance of the facility, but will be there every day when the kids arrive. If we raise a generation of children to whom green, high-performance, healthy buildings are the norm, our work will be done."

HEATING'S A BORE

Woodbury High School, Woodbury, NJ: Deep beneath Woodbury High School's state-of-the-art Athletic Complex stems the Board of Education's commitment to a "greener" future: a 176-bore geothermal field.

Faced with open space restrictions at the urban school, the architects proposed that the wells be placed underneath the athletic field. The system supplies the classrooms with today's fresh air standards at an affordable operating cost.

Juror Martin Montano states that this winner is "a smart renovation project. It's an effective use of a restrictive site. There was an impressive commitment from the community and school board to promote green building, as well as a strong approach to re-use and recycle materials on site."

LIGHTING THE WAY ... NATURALLY

by Welles Pugsley Architects, LLP

Roy Martin Middle School, Las Vegas, NV: In designing this facility, it was imperative that the prototype integrate daylighting. As a result, the architectural forms evolved in order to create the most beneficial passive daylighting design strategy. Daylighting for the two-story classrooms occurs in two ways. First, classrooms on the second level have direct light from above via roof monitors and windows, allowing for even lighting throughout each room. Second, classrooms on the first floor receive daylight via light shafts that penetrate between classrooms on the second floor.

Juror Emily Thomas (Integrated Science and Technology student at James Madison University) concludes, "This design incorporates one of the cheapest lighting sources available to us: passive solar. I like this design because children should have access to natural lighting in their classrooms, and I believe administrators will find that, in addition to the school's energy savings, the children will be healthier and enjoy superior learning."

THE HEALTHY CLASSROOM

St. Rose of Lima Catholic, Layton, UT: The parish at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church asked its architect to design a LEED Silver Certified building for its Classroom and Social Hall addition.

One powerful and organizing design element of the resulting building is classroom daylighting. The orientation of light-gathering panels to the south led to an interesting building configuration - each classroom is oriented to face south on a site that is 25 degrees off the east-west axis. Classroom roofs are pitched toward the south to gather light high in the wall and distribute it evenly inside the room. Light shelves, diffusing/insulted glazing, skylights, and reflective roofs are used.

Efficient, low energy-consuming HVAC systems are provided by use of ground source, water-driven heat pumps - one for each classroom. This reduces energy costs and provides a high degree of zoning and control for each room.

Juror John Swang comments: "One of the most important issues facing education today is public health. This is especially true with regard to the spread of communicable diseases like colds and flu. The healthy classroom can reduce the spread of disease and increase attendance rates for teachers and students so that everyone can spend more time on learning. The comprehensive design for LEED Silver Certification is also impressive."

CLERESTORY ROOF STRUCTURE

Encinitas Country Day School (Montessori PreK/Elementary), Encinitas, CA: This school is built on property adjacent to the environmentally sensitive San Elijo Lagoon. The design objectives were to have a light environmental footprint as well as incorporate the site's beauty and natural potential into the architecture and learning opportunities.

These objectives were met via naturally ventilated spaces, effective day lighting strategies, and the creation of outdoor classroom spaces. The architecture for the campus is purposefully simple, quiet, and formally subservient to the landscape. The buildings were separated into smaller clusters to decrease the project's scale.

The project's adjacency to the lagoon called for an innovative system of water run-off capture, recycling, and re-use. The landscaping also uses native, non-invasive species. Both protect the lagoon's eco-system and conserve and reuse water resources, while also serving as a stewardship example to support and foster curriculum.