XML FeedsShades of green: Cuts killed some environmental advances at new Lincoln school, but not all
By CostBenefit on Mar 21, 2006 | In Water, Energy, Green Buildings, Midwest, Newspaper/Mag/TV/Media Story, Savings, Costs and Benefits
Link: http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/Today/2006032017
When you think of “green” buildings that are easy on the environment, consolidated high schools probably do not spring to mind: sprawling stretches of pavement and cinderblock, filled with vinyl tile and fluorescent lights and gas-gobbling furnaces. But when the state decided to consolidate Lincoln County’s four high schools, architects at ZMM decided to try green. School districts in at least 20 other states already have “green schools” programs to save energy and reduce waste. ... Not every green idea got cut out of the school. A few made it, making the new Lincoln County high school more environmentally friendly than it would have been otherwise: # Daylighting. After a much-cited 1999 study found that children learn faster and score better on tests when their classrooms have windows, many new schools have featured the glassy look. The new Lincoln school has the now-typical soaring central atrium, but the nondescript-looking little windows throughout the rest of the school are the real workhorses. ... # Automatic light, sink and temperature controls. The classrooms and hallways are painted white, and with so much sunlight electric lights can be unnecessary. Automatic sensors detect the level of sunlight in each room, gradually turning the artificial lights up or down accordingly. The lights automatically switch off when nobody is in the room or hallway. ... # High-efficiency heating and cooling equipment located ... indoors. “Typically in school buildings in the last 15 or 20 years, rooftop equipment was installed,” Watkins said. Nobody bothered to roof the equipment in “because it wasn’t important” — energy was cheap. But the Lincoln school had a natural “room” left over, where the lower-ceilinged classrooms were sandwiched in between the high-ceilinged shop rooms and gymnasium. By simply putting a roof on that in-between area, a higher-efficiency system could be installed because it wasn’t at risk of freezing. The HVAC system will now last twice as long: “40 or 50 years,” Watkins said. “Same as the life of the building.” # Low-VOC carpet, paints and adhesives. The floor tile is Forbo, made from linseed oil, jute and other renewable substances — the same linoleum Greenpeace recently installed in a Habitat for Humanity house designed to be free of chemical-releasing polyvinyl chloride. ... Meanwhile, green architecture has become more widely accepted. California found that simple measures, such as turning off lights and computers when not in use, cut electricity use by up to 18 percent, so now it is retrofitting schools with energy-efficient equipment. A Massachusetts pilot project found that green measures in schools pay for themselves up to eight times over a 20-year period; those results will be used to plan the way future schools are built. ... By Tara Tuckwiller FOR FULL STORY GO TO: http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/Today/2006032017 Sunday Gazette-Mail www.wvgazette.com Charleston West Virginia| « Toxic polluters sue back | FORTUNE Highlights Corporate Green-Building Achievements » |
