Successful Green Schools

Green School 1 - Vele High School

Vele High School is situated in a rural, mountainous region of the Limpopo Province and its

construction was completed in early 2011. It was designed by East Coast Architects.

Background

The emphasis or idea was to use education as a building block to sustainable development, thus the

project transforms the school into a community centre of lifelong learning. Therefore the program

entailed energy efficiency, renewable energy use, rainwater harvesting and local food production.

Description of the building

The high school consists of :

17 general classrooms; naturally lit by roof lights and large windows (with external light

shelves on north-facing classroom windows) and ventilated for favourable internal conditions

providing warmth in winter and cool conditions in summer.

2 science labs

A computer room

Library

Administration offices

Staff room with photovoltaic array powering all computers

Teacher resource centre

Hall

Ablutions (dry composting toilets wit green roofs)

Stores, food gardens and sports fields

Stone tower and walking bridge at the entrance.

Why the school is described as sustainable and/or green

In the construction of the school, there was extensive community engagement. Methods such as

rainwater harvesting, solar photovoltaics energy measuring and monitoring systems, use of local

materials and skills as well as passive low energy design and campus layout.

How the sustainability was achieved

Rainwater harvesting installation with a total storage capacity of 150 000 liters.

50m2 of solar photovoltaics which provide electricity for 80 computers

Energy measuring and monitoring systems to increase energy awareness and reduce energy

costs. This is achieved by metered energy consumption in different zones of the high school

and a large display screen which allows learners, educators and management to monitor

energy usage.

Passive low energy design through solar orientation, natural lighting, solar shading and light

shelves, insulation and natural ventilation.

Labor intensive construction techniques using local materials and skills

Green roofs which provide insulation and wildlife habitat.

Campus layout designed to facilitate shared use of school facilities by local communities and

surrounding schools.

Food gardens to supplement the school nutrition program.

Extensive community engagement with learners, educators and local residents, including

photographic and mapping workshops with learners and skills and materials audits with local

residents.

Green School 2 - Roy Lee Walker Elementary School

Roy Lee Walker Elementary is located in the McKinney Independent School District in McKinney, Texas

by Innovative Design.

Background

The McKinney Independent School District (MISD) has a history and involvement with sustainable

design for schools. It was one of 2 districts to receive a $200 000 grant from the Texas State General

Services Commission/State Energy Conservation Office which then led to the MISD moving ahead with

plans to build a sustainably designed school. A decision was made to integrate the design fully with

sustainable practices rather than to concentrate on one particular element such as energy efficiency or

indoor air quality.

During the course of planning, different methods were used to educate District personnel and the

community about sustainable design and making the planning process inclusive. The architect also

held meetings with people who would be involved with the school like staff, students and members of

the community to discuss the design and the sustainability goals in order to assure these were

achieved from inception to construction.

Description of the building

The building totals 70 000 square feet. The basic design represents a ‘finger plan’ where each each

‘finger’ is a wing for two grade levels and ten classrooms. Three finger wings feed into a main building

that includes a dining room, gym and library.

Why the school is described as sustainable and/or green

Resource conservation in energy efficiency, water usage, use of environmentally sensitive building

products and quality of interior building environment (air quality) and education of staff on

sustainability concepts.

There are also other elements such as:

Quality of interior building environment by daylighting,

Solar water heating,

Native landscaping,

Class garden areas,

Wide halls that double up as additional learning spaces,

Class garden areas,

Recycled building materials,

Sun dials for time,

Rainwater harvesting and water habitats,

How the sustainability was achieved

Resources Conservation (Energy Efficiency)

The building is oriented to maximize southern exposure and minimize east-west exposure. Solar

panels were installed to heat water for the school. A windmill is used on site to raise the level of water

in the main cistern.

Resource Conservation (Water Usage)

Rainwater is channeled through special gutters to form cisterns where it supplies water for campus

irrigation. Hose bibs were built into each cistern to make water available for use by the children when

they help to plant gardens around the perimeter of the school at some future date. Naïve grass and

plants are used for landscaping to minimize water use and to limit mowing.

Red cinders (extrusive igneous rocks with many cavities and such low density to float on water) are

used on walkways instead of concrete because they are a more pervious and natural material, with

the advantage over gravel and dirt of not turning into mud due to rain.

Resource Conservation (Building Products and Interior building environment)

Low-toxic and non-toxic materials were used for the project, including products with high recycled

content. Specifications covered such products as plastic, laminators, adhesives and paint.

Daylighting

Daylighting is used extensively throughout the design. It incorporated the use of light monitors which

‘scoop’ the sunlight in, bounce it off baffles, and send evenly distributed, non-glaring daylight into

learning spaces. As the light enters through the monitors it is directed by rectangular shaped sheets of

hanging fabric (baffles) that are hung in parallel formations to catch and evenly distribute the light.

Education

Staff receive training to learn how concepts of sustainability were applied to Roy Lee Walker

Elementary. A sun-dial at the gym and in the courtyard help students learn to identify summer and

winter solstices and to read time using the sun as their watch. An eco-pond, which is also part of a

man-made stream was built as an outdoor habitat classroom demonstrating water conservation and

aquatic plants and animals.

Integration with the community: The school site is adjacent to a city park. The city and school district

agreed to share the on-site school parking areas and to allow the park to be used as a playground

extension during school hours.

Whether this process could be appropriate for schools in South Africa

A large amount of the processes used for the Roy Lee Walker Elementary can be implemented in

schools in South Africa. Discussion with involved parties at schools such as staff, students as well as

the local community itself about sustainable principles will help with the longevity and maintenance of

the schools. Use of daylighting to cut back on artificial lighting and helps reduce cost and

environmental impact. Rain water harvesting, solar water heating and use of recycled building

materials. As the school used wide halls to double up as learning spaces and computer stations, local

schools can use the same principle to find other uses for idle spaces.

Green School 3 - Library and Classroom Building, Langara College.

It is a college located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by Teeple Architects

Background

From the project’s inception, Langara College was looking to address the spatial and educational

needs of the school, while creating a sustainable environment to incorporate the new Library and

Classroom program. In addition to designing the building, Teeple Architects designed a plan that offers

a strategy to realize the environmentally friendly vision of the college’s future supported by

sustainably built and natural features.

Description of the Building

The form of the building is generated from the environmental forces acting on it.

A roof warped by wind and rain has a wind tower displaced vertically from the roof’s surface.

Gardens and exterior public spaces push into the building, bringing greenery and daylight into

the mass of the building.

The main vertical circulation spine surrounds the wind tower voids, and thus, forms the

principle public interiors of the building.

Stairs flow via the wind towers to large study spaces as the second floor, and beyond to

quieter places of contemplation on the uppermost levels.

The building is carefully placed to define 3 new courtyards which are focal points for campus

life, and itself becomes a figural focus and gateway into this sustainable campus.

Why the school is described as sustainable and/or green

This was achieved by a number of factors such as greening of the site, low flow bathroom fixtures,

reflective and green roofs, rainwater harvesting, use/incorporation of flyash in concrete for the

structure, and regional as well as low-emitting materials and furnishings.

The annual energy consumption energy consumption for the building/system is 24.5 kWh/m2, which is

70% better than the National Energy Code. The annual electrical energy consumption for the building

is 262 MJ/m2, attributed to the electrically powered geothermal system. Natural gas usage is

38MJ/m2, representing a saving of 94%. Since the building is naturally heated and cooled, there is no

need to rely on external energy sources to assure a high quality of air and light within the spaces.

The project shows a cultural shift that no longer sees the world as a vast resource, but as a finite

reserve which is slowly disappearing, the building responding to this technically by making the most of

renewable resources (wind, rain and geothermal temperatures), as well as poetically – transforming

into uniquely exceptional spaces.

How the Sustainability is achieved

The wind and rain warp the building’s roof, while wind towers are displaced vertically from the

roof’s surface. (the wind tower eliminates the need for conventional heating and cooling by

facilitating natural ventilation and keeping the building cool). The warped surface of the roof

lifts the wind into the towers, pulling air through the exterior spaces.

Gardens and exterior public spaces push into the building, registering in its final figure.

The elimination of traditional HVAC systems, and the replacement with geothermal heating

and cooling in combination with natural displacement ventilation, results in a highly energy

efficient building. A weather station on the roof senses wind direct, speed and humidity, and

through a computerized control system, activates vent windows in the wind towers, which

allow the wind to drive air through the building, this method acting not only as a substitute for

conventional heating and cooling but is also the expressive force underlying the experience of

the architecture.

Fresh air is brought into the building through a wind scoop that becomes an iconic element in

the student quad. The air, contained in a duct ring, is tempered by passing through the

underground parking.

Interior climate control is further achieved through ground source heating and cooling, which

adjusts the temperature of the building’s concrete thermal mass. These measures significantly

impact energy use.

Indoor air quality sensors monitor and adjust the air temperature, humidity CO2 content and

movement, ensuring its quality.

The bright interiors are naturally lit, with sensors adjusting the artificial lighting when

necessary.

The shape of the reflective roof gathers the rainwater into cisterns below the building, and

then pumps the water back to irrigate the new landscape. Storm water is processed through a

sequence of bio swales along the west elevation. The swales are planted with vegetation and

compost designed to remove silt and pollution from surface run-off. Inside the building, low

flush toilets and waterless urinals reduce the water use by 30%.

The primary building material is concrete. The concrete mixture includes recycled content,

mainly fly-ash. Leaving the concrete exposed, results in the building requiring little to no

interior or exterior maintenance. Other materials include low emitting adhesives, sealants,

paints, carpets and composite woods. The concrete thermal mass stores heat and significantly

reduces the requirement for active heating and cooling systems.

Therefore, 10% of the building is recycled content, inclusive of carpet tile, walnut doors and

composite material in the millwork. Over 20% of the building materials are local and regional

products, including the concrete, drywall and wood.

Whether this process can could be appropriate for schools in South Africa

Although the college was done with a fairly large budget, a number of processes can be implemented

in local schools. Elements such as recycled content in the use of construction, such as the concrete

and fly-ash mixture. Use of the roof to gather water, wind towers to eliminate the use of conventional

heating and cooling but rather providing natural ventilation. Another component is the use of a

geothermal system. (geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the earth).

Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

References

Vele High School

Available http://www.holcimfoundation.org/T1245/SchoolinfrastructureprogramsSouthAfrica.htm

(23/09/11)

Available http://eca-derek.blogspot.com/2011/03/vele-update-march-2011.html (23/09/11)

Available http://www.oprah.com/angelnetwork/The-Vele-High-School-Project (23/09/11)

Available http://www.archdaily.com/101574/a-holistic-perspective-in-sustainable-construction-

projects/ (23/09/11)

Langara College

Available http://www.archdaily.com/116405/library-and-classroom-building-langara-college-teeple-

architects/ 19/09/11

Available http://www.holcimfoundation.org/T1262/A05NAacCA-prog11.htm 19/09/11

Available http://soyouknowbetter.com/2011/03/30/use-wind-to-reach-leed-gold-langara-college-

library/19/09/11

Available http://www.sabmagazine.com/blog/2008/07/26/sustainable-campus/19/09/11

Available http://blog.gabrielross.com/2011/05/02/vancouvers-langara-college-leeds-in-sustainable-

construction/19/09/11

Available http://www.umahku.com/apartment-architecture/classroom-library-and-langara-college-

teeple-architects19/09/11

Roy Lee Walker Elementary School

Available http://www.pprc.org/pubs/schools/doit.cfm 27/09/11

Available http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_sustain_schools.htm27/09/11

Available http://www.shwgroup.com/portfolio/walker.html27/09/11

Available http://leonardo-earthwindfirewater.blogspot.com/2011/01/high-performance-sustainable-

school.html27/09/11

Available http://www.matrixtours.com/tours/walkerelementary/27/09/11