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comment Allowing for Growth, Going for Green
A suburb of the nation’s capital, Alexandria, Virginia, started to outgrow its high school several years ago, leading the school board to decide that a replacement for T.C. Williams High School was necessary. The recently certified LEED-Gold high school, designed by Moseley Architects, was built on the same site as the old one, which was demolished in 2007.
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The building is designed to reduce potable water use by 72 percent compared to code. A 450,000-gallon cistern stores collected rainwater, which is used for irrigation, toilet flushing, and air-conditioning systems. This means that no potable water is used for irrigation or sewage conveyance; waterless urinals and water-efficient plumbing fixtures further lower potable water use.
Indoor environmental quality was also a priority, according to Bryna Dunn at Moseley. Faculty, staff, and students are given control over their surroundings through small-zone temperature controls and operable windows, which also provide daylighting in several spaces. Temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide are all monitored and the information is used to fine-tune the mechanical systems. Additionally, low-emitting materials were used throughout the building.
The most innovative part of the project, according to Dunn, was the incorporation of the green aspects of the building into the school’s curriculum. A dashboard in the student commons shows real-time energy and water use. Students are allowed on the roof garden, which is often used for educational sessions, and signs throughout the building point out green features.
Melissa Hamilton, curriculum specialist for science for the Alexandria school system, worked closely with Moseley to incorporate green design features into science classes. Although the curriculum is a work in progress, it contains several levels of questions that can be incorporated into lessons at various grade levels. Some questions, Hamilton says, only require a trip to the dashboard to look up specific information. Others require students to design experiments to gather and interpret data—to measure the effect of the green roof on stormwater retention, for example.
“We want to make sure that we’re encouraging higher-level thinking and training students to have an impact on science in the future,” Hamilton said.
Copyright 2009 by BuildingGreen, LLC
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