Green Building/High Performance Schools - Case Studies
Resources
Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies
 | Type: Case Study - Database - Web site |
| Summary: This school is the home of Oberlin College's Environmental Studies Program. The schools and campus embrace the ecological philosophy by serving as a living laboratory "for the emerging field of ecological design". They offer live data on their energy perform... |
| View more information on this link |
AE Stevenson High School, Illinois
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: A.E. Stevenson High School has been ranked as the top-ranked public high school in Illinois by Newsweek Magazine. To accommodate a projected enrollment of 4,500, the facility was expanded in September 2001 to include a new resource center, commons and a... |
| View more information on this link |
Ash Creek Intermediate School, Oregon
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Energy efficiency is one of the building's many pluses. Through passive solar design and state-of-the-art daylighting and electronic controls, the school will use approximately 30 percent less energy than Oregon's energy code requires. Te design committee had... |
| View more information on this link |
Audubon Nature Center at Debs Park is Certified as Nation's Most Environmentally Friendly Building (January 2004)
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: This press release from Toyota identifies features and design components found in the Audubon Nature Center at Debs Park. Toyota partnered with the Los Angeles Audubon Center to assist in implementing sustainable design. |
| View more information on this link |
Ballston Spa High School, Ballston Spa, New York
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Lighting systems for the high school cafeteria, library, and art rooms used indirect luminaires and a computerized energy management system that controlled lights on a schedule, while daylight allowed electric lights to be turned off. Evaluations and feedback... |
| View more information on this link |
Benjamin Olewine III Nature Center, Wildwood Lake Sanctuary, Pennsylvania
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Designed with environmental responsibility as a key criterion, the 12,000 square foot Benjamine Olewine III Nature Center at Wildwood Lake Sanctuary was added to the growing list of green buildings in central Pennsylvania in 1999. This report identifes site is... |
| View more information on this link |
Building Green from Principle to Practice
| Type: Fact sheet - Web site |
| Summary: The market for high-performance homes and workplaces is soaring. Explore this website to find out how building green can boost your bottom line. Get tips for streamlining design and construction. Learn which strategies deliver the biggest paybacks. And disc... |
| View more information on this link |
Burnaby Mountain Secondary School, Burnaby, British Columbia
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Geothermal system saves energy and budget while enhancing fish habitat. Energy strategies include a heat pump, t-8 florescents, high efficiency boilers, heat recovery chillers as well as natural landscaping and life-cycle assessment strategies and analysis of... |
| View more information on this link |
Cahuenga New Elementary School
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The team of Los Angeles Unified School District and Fields Devereaux Architects and Engineers have joined to design a large urban elementary school for over 800 students. The high performance features incorporated into the design include stormwater controls;... |
| View more information on this link |
Camp Arroyo Environmental Education Center
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: State-of-the-art sustainable design principles were integrated into the process from the initial demolition of an existing building. On-site demolition and recycling of the old foundations lead to energy efficient design complete with "solar energy for water a... |
| View more information on this link |
Cary Junior High School provides a lesson in excellence
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Cary Junior High School is a new facility located on a former farm field. The building incorporates grades 7 and 8, with the student population broken down into smaller, more intimate groupings. On the way to designing this school the building was oriented t... |
| View more information on this link |
Cathedral High School
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Cathedral High School in Massachusetts was designed and built in the 1950s with commercial light designs typical of the 1950s. Through time a variety of lighting technologies were installed. As the need for energy efficiency increased the schools began to ep... |
| View more information on this link |
Central Junior High School in Belleville, Illinois
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Central Junior High School is a state-of-the-art facility that replaced the 1940s building. The site design includes many contemporary features among which is an educational park that combines elementary and junior high. Improved lighting. |
| View more information on this link |
Cesar Chavez Education Center
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The Oakland Unified School District and VBN Architects have partnered to design an energy efficient school for approximately 600 elementary students. Energy efficient goals will feature natural ventilation; maximum use of daylighting planned for classrooms; re... |
| View more information on this link |
Chicago GreenTech
| Type: Case Study - Web site |
| Summary: A model for the nation. Chicago Green Tech is only the third building in the United States to be designed using the highest standards of green technology available. It is the only one of the three that is a renovation of an existing building and the only one a... |
| View more information on this link |
Clackamas High School, Oregon
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Clackamas High School was selected by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to serve as a national model for performance-based compensation and exceptional energy performance. They preserved a 6-acre wetlands,parking was designed for shared use with adjacent bui... |
| View more information on this link |
Commercial Programs Energy Efficient Schools
| Type: Article/Report - Database - Fact sheet - Powerpoints, videos and virtual tours - Web site |
| Summary: A database of energy efficient schools can be accessed (filtered by state and type of project) and a collection of powerpoint presentations from CEE's energy-efficient school workshop in 2002 provide some unique resources. There is also a 4-page commercial bui... |
| View more information on this link |
Dalles Middle School, The Dalles, Oregon
| Summary: Ground-source heat pumps, daylighting, T-5 fluorescent lamps, occupancy sensors, natural ventilation, and more contribute to this school applying to become a LEED school.
|
| View more information on this link |
Daylight Savings
| Type: Article/Report |
| Summary: How was Waltham High school preserved at a time when schools were being demolished to make way for "high-performance, energy efficient schools?"
|
| View more information on this link |
Eco Schools: School and Community Participation in the Design, Construction and Stewardship of Green School Grounds
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study - Web site |
| Summary: This list of resources provides information about increasing participation on green school ground projects. Many schools successfully involve students, teachers, school administrators, community members, design professionals, and other interested individuals a... |
| View more information on this link |
Ecological Design and Building Schools: Green Guide to Educational Opportunities in the United States and Canada
| Type: BiblioResources (Books) |
| Summary: Non-fiction, reference
Authors, Sandra Leibowitz Earley
ISBN 0-9766054-1-4
The only directory of its kind, this comprehensive, illustrated guide features an annotated listing of schools and educational centers offering programs... |
| View more information on this link |
El Segundo High School
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: El Segundo High School is an urban school in the Los Angeles area. The design of the new school will incorporate recycled building material, low-emitting materials and outdoor water conservation as well as energy efficient design. |
| View more information on this link |
Energy Class
| Type: Article/Report |
| Summary: Antioch Community High School (Illinois) is making its own electricity, heating its own water and even selling electricity to a local utility. They are tapping into a nearby landfill. |
| View more information on this link |
Environmental Building News
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study - Checklist - Database - List - Web site |
| Summary: A well-organized web site, Building Green.Com offers information on a variety of "green" topics including policies, processes, siting and water, energy, materials and indoor and outdoor designs. A calendar of events that support these topics identifies confer... |
| View more information on this link |
Fairview South Elementary School, Skokie, Illinois
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Bringing natural light inside this school was a primary goal. In addition to modernizing educational space and update its image, the designing team from OWP/P Architects sought cost-effective solutions to renovating the existing school and build an addition. |
| View more information on this link |
Fuqua School, Farmville, Virginia
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: In an effort to reflect the schools dedication to science and technology, this school investigated options and alternative energy. They selected an efficient heating and cooling system that used geo thermal. This case study explains the cost savings, building... |
| View more information on this link |
Georgina Blach Intermediate School
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Gelfand RNP Architects and the Los Altos School District designed an intermediate school that exceeds Title 24 requirements by at least 15%. It features School exceeds Title 24 requirements by at least 15%; resource efficient materials; adaptive reuse of exist... |
| View more information on this link |
Giaudrone Middle School
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Giaudrone Middle School was built on an existing school site. The design optimizes natural daylighting, demolition recycled much of the previous building and asphalt, and biofiltration swales and treatments improved water quality while reducing off-site storm... |
| View more information on this link |
Glenbrook North High School Natatorium and Cafeteria Additions Northbrook, Illinios
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The additions and remodeling at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois, were driven by the need for a proper competition pool and the need for increased capacity in the cafeteria. While addressing the requirements of the more stringent codes and... |
| View more information on this link |
Goddard School, Northborough, Massachusetts
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Goddard School is a franchise daycare and early childhoold institution. The original lighting called for 2 x 4 foot ceiling lights with 4 T-8 lamps. Glare and uneven lighting was a concern. The school states its aim is to provide a "warm, loving atmosphere... |
| View more information on this link |
Goodwillie Environmental School, Ada, Michigan
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Goodwillie ES is a certified LEED school and has been developed to demonstrate sustainable practices. The LEED profile is available at http://www.usgbc.org/FileHandling/show_general_file.asp?DocumentID=391 |
| View more information on this link |
Green Exhibits
| Type: Web site |
| Summary: Learn how the Children's Museum in Madison, WI, creates green exhibits for sustainable futures. Their concepts include how to begin, plan, develop, build, connect and dream. |
| View more information on this link |
Green Flag Program
| Type: Case Study - Checklist |
| Summary: The Green Flag Program is a project of the Child Proofing our Communities Campaign coordinated by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. They offer a start up kit to help school communities learn about the program and its materials describe how to fo... |
| View more information on this link |
Green Roof Research Program at Michigan State University
| Type: Research - Web site |
| Summary: What is a green roof, what are the benefits, what is the research currently underway at Michigan State University along with photograps and other resources. There is even an example of a green roof on a doghouse and garden shed. |
| View more information on this link |
Green School Gathers for Takeoff
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: When architects speak of "green" buildings these days, they seldom mean it literally. But for the elementary/ middle school in Lake Zurich, Illinois, Legat Architects, Inc. have justified both environmental and chromatic interpretations of the word. |
| View more information on this link |
Harvard Elementary, Harvard, Massachusetts
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Out-of-date lighting systems contributed to gloomy atmospheres on winter afternoons. Lighting levels were below recommended practices and glare issues prevailed. Mixes of lighting types and designs, color combinations and energy efficient lights contributed... |
| View more information on this link |
Helena Middle School Officials Get a Reality Check
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: Helena School District officials in Helena, Montana learned about building commissioning the hard way what can happen when expectations meet reality. |
| View more information on this link |
Illinois Resource Guide for Healthy, High-Performing School Buildings
| Type: Manual/Handbook |
| Summary: This 96 page document (pdf) contains section on defining healthy, high performing school buildings, assessing needs and establishing a planning team; design elements of a healthy, high performing school building, and operations-maintenance-education considerat... |
| View more information on this link |
Ins and Outs of Schools Facility Management
| Type: BiblioResources (Books) - Checklist |
| Summary: Non-fiction
Authors, Tak Cheung Chan and Michael D. Richardson
ISBN 1-57886-191-8 These authors provide guidance to school administrators, school board members and community members as they begin the process of renovating th... |
| View more information on this link |
John W. North High School, Riverside, California
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The geoexchange ground source heat pump project was part of a major modernization project undertaken in 2002. This project also included updating the building to meet current codes. |
| View more information on this link |
Lake City High School Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Coeur d'Alene's Lake City High School sits on an aquifer that supplies 50 degree water to a Geo Exchange system. The case study describes installation, savings, and other factors. |
| View more information on this link |
Learning By Design 2005 Projects
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: Lists of school rrenovation, restoration and addition projects from around the country that embrace various techniques for high performance and energy efficiency. |
| View more information on this link |
Lockport Township High School, Illinois
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The Lockport Township High School consists of two campuses. In October 1999, Lockport Township High School’s East Campus started an energy conservation program. A comprehensive energy conservation plan addressing electricity use was developed. |
| View more information on this link |
Maplewood K-8 Co-op and Maplewood Center, Edmonds, Washington
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Multiple sustainable elements were integrated into the design of the project from the very beginning. The result is a high performance building and site that blends into the context of the single-family neighborhood. Design features, such as multiple gabled ro... |
| View more information on this link |
Maximize Performance And Minimize Operating Costs By Commissioning New And Existing School Buildings
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: School districts, like other public institutions throughout the country, are under tremendous pressure to cut costs and trim budgets. With every dollar being scrutinized by administrators, board members and citizens, school leaders have an opportunity to save... |
| View more information on this link |
McKim Middle School, Kimbely, British Columbia
| Summary: McKim Middle School's integrated design delivered a long-term energy reduction of 50 percent below the MNECB (Canada's national energy code) while maintaining first-cost controls.Green designs incorporated energy reductions, smaller footprints reduced impervio... |
| View more information on this link |
Million Solar Roofs Initiative
| Type: Web site |
| Summary: The Million Solar Roofs Initiative is a unique public-private partnership, aimed at overcoming barriers to market entry for selected solar technologies. The goal of the Initiative is practical and market-driven: to facilitate the sale and installation of one m... |
| View more information on this link |
Monticello High School, Illinois, Energy Efficiency, One Building at a Time
| Summary: Monticello High School worked with Johnson Controls to identify out-of-date lighting concerns, inefficient temperature regulations and air quality. The facility installed upgrades as well as new equipment to imporve quality and efficiency throughout the build... |
| View more information on this link |
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities: Safe, Healthy, High Performance Schools
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study - Fact sheet - List - Manual/Handbook - Web site |
| Summary: NCEF provides a general resource for all aspects of providing the high performance, safe, healthy schools. Resources include healthy school enviromenets, classroom design, high performance schools, and much more. |
| View more information on this link |
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago was the winner of the First Naitonal Green Roof Infrastructure Conference Award for a retrofitted intensive green roof. This 2,000 square foot roof is a savannah and meadow combination roofmeadow landscape. |
| View more information on this link |
Pine Jog's Model Schools Program
| Type: Article/Report - Web site |
| Summary: This innovative program developed by Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in 1995 in partnership with the Palm Beach County School District links environmental education with educational reform. The primary goal of the program is to improve student achievem... |
| View more information on this link |
Planning a Green Campus
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: St. Louis Community College offers lessons in sustainability by sharing their planning experiences. This includes site sustainability (including parking), water efficiency, energy and interior air quality, and materials. |
| View more information on this link |
Planning a Sustainable Site, Philip Merrill Environmental Center, Chespeake Bay
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Learn how this award winning center proceeded. They provide information on planning a sustainable site, improving energy efficiency, conserving materials and resources, enhancing indoor environmental quality, conserving water, planning for the future and reco... |
| View more information on this link |
Prairie Crossing Charter School
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The new school (2004) in Grayslake, Illinois, was built embracing Green School concepts. Classroom floors are made of bamboo, motion-detectors automatically turn off lights when no one is in the room; water-saving toilets were installed. Prairie Crossing Char... |
| View more information on this link |
Rec and Effect, Student Driven Recreational Center Project Evolves into a Campus Showpiece
| Type: Article/Report - Web site |
| Summary: Washington State University students contributed to the design of the college athletic facilities. WSU student government leaders researched options to accommodate health-conscious and environmentally conscious youth and students. |
| View more information on this link |
Redux Designs That Reuse, Recycle, and Reveal
Restrooms Go Green
| Type: Article/Report |
| Summary: A variety of water conserving options and plumbing products enhance Chicago's Social Security Center, and educational facilities like Washington's Islandwood, Michigan's Bunker Interpretive Center and California State Northridge's Student Union.
|
| View more information on this link |
Saint Catherine of Genoa School, Somerville, MA
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Energy efficiency and light levels were concerns at this school built in 1927 and rebuilt in the 1940s. No major lighting renovations have been provided since the the 1940s. Original schoolhouse pendant fixtures remained in classrooms, offices and halls. Th... |
| View more information on this link |
San Pasqual Elementary
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: San Diego Unified School District worked with HMC Architects to design an elementary school with windows that take advantage of daylight and valley breezes thus reducing reliance on mechanical cooling. In the landscape design drought tolerant landscaping capt... |
| View more information on this link |
School Building Case Studies
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: This list of schools features schools across the country who installed geoexchange systems, and each case study provides features and savings realized by the school. |
| View more information on this link |
School Districts Use Performance Contracts to Reduce Energy Costs and Upgrade Facilities
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: Small school districts in Idaho are financing capital improvements through energy performance contracts. By paying for improvements through future utility savings, these schools are improving learning environments without breaking their budgets. Several small... |
| View more information on this link |
School Operations and Maintenance: Best Practices for Controlling Energy Costs
| Type: Case Study - Manual/Handbook |
| Summary: Prepared by Princeton Energy Resource International, HPowell Energy
Associates and the Alliance to Save Energy, this guidebook is designed
for K-12 school system business officials and facilities managers. It is
designed to meet the specific needs of school... |
| View more information on this link |
School Planning & Management
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study - Web site |
| Summary: Search the archives for topics on green schools. An initial search for "green schools" uncovered 27 articles including "Energy Class: Antioch Community High School (Illinois) is making its own electricity, heating its own water and even selling electricity t... |
| View more information on this link |
Schuyler Elementary School, Queen City, Missouri
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: A brief analysis of the geo thermal system at Schuyler Elementary School in Queen City, Missouri, provides a review of the energy cost savings, system features and staff comments. |
| View more information on this link |
Science House at the Science Museum of Minnesota
| Type: Case Study - Web site |
| Summary: Science House is not only a versatile program space but a true environmental experiment; because it is designed to operate as a zero-emissions building (ZEB). ZEBs produce all of their its energy needs on an annual basis. |
| View more information on this link |
Seacrest Upper School
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Seacrest Upper School in Naples Florida has been designed to emphasize natural lighting and implement water conservation technology with rainwater harvesting and water efficient plumbing. The building will be constructed in multiple phases with phase one begin... |
| View more information on this link |
See It, Believe It, Build It -- With Confidence
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: The Marin Country Day School (a private k-8 school in Corte Madena, California) addressed poor lighting conditions. Working through the PG&E's daylighting initiative, the school and project architects developed a series of design options with clerestories or... |
| View more information on this link |
Sidwell Friends School Facilities Planning Update
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC plans to address deficiences in its facilities by renovating and adding to its exisiting buildings. They have actively sought community input. As part of their redesign they hope to make the school a leading example na... |
| View more information on this link |
Small Changes Equal Big Savings for Minnesota School District
| Type: Article/Report - Case Study |
| Summary: The Rochester Public School District in Minnesota is saving thousands of dollars in annual energy expenses through no-cost and low-cost changes. The school system was one of four districts that assisted in the development of the Schools for Energy Efficiency (... |
| View more information on this link |
Southeast Learning Center
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Los Angeles Unified School District worked with the WLC architecture firm to embrace some neighborhood friendly concepts as well as energy efficient objectives. The district has provided bike lanes and racks,utilizes public transit but is within walking dista... |
| View more information on this link |
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Promoting Energy Efficiency on Campus and in Community
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s (SIUC) College of Engineering, a founding partner of Rebuild Carbondale, is helping reduce energy consumption throughout the university and surrounding community through financial incentive programs and energy-smart te... |
| View more information on this link |
Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC)
| Type: Article/Report - Fact sheet - Manual/Handbook - Web site |
| Summary: SBIC has developed a High Performance Schools Buildings campaign, produced a new Build Better Buildings brochure that presents high-performance buildings as solutions to a variety of challenges, has established criteria and guidelines for green building design... |
| View more information on this link |
Sustainable Elements at IslandWood on Brainbridge Island, Puget Sound
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: One of the newer nature centers within the community features many of the mewest design features in energy conservation, recycling, alternative energy, resource management. An outline of features for the center and for specific buildings is provided as well a... |
| View more information on this link |
Sweet Sedum
| Type: Article/Report |
| Summary: Green-roof technology now offers a host of options--from the humble patch of grass to sophisticated feats of structural engineering. This article provides a look at five different Green Roof projects. |
| View more information on this link |
Sweetwater Creek Visitor's Center and Museum
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: In 2003 plans were unveiled for the new Sweetwater Creek visitor's Center and Museum in Georgia. Features of the building will integrate LEED Certification. The Certification process has a detailed checklist that includes everything from site selection to r... |
| View more information on this link |
TP3 Success Stories
| Type: Case Study - Web site |
| Summary: A TP3 Success Story is written documentation of a successful pollution prevention project. The Success Story will include a description of the TP3 member, the environmental challenge addressed, how the project was implemented, and the measured amount of pollu... |
| View more information on this link |
Walking the Environmental Talk, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center's Green Building
| Type: Case Study |
| Summary: "Hailed as one of the most environmentally sensitive -- or sustainable -- buildings in the nation, the Center is striving for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, to be determined later this... |
| View more information on this link |
Westwood Nature Center Roofmeadow
