Built to Last
May 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Mike Kennedy (mkennedy@asumag.com)
Early proponents of sustainable-design strategies provided facilities that are fulfilling their promise to save energy and improve education.
Before LEED
Architects are not the only ones who were ahead of their time embracing the green design movement. The Wake County (N.C.) district, as part of the Triangle J Council of Governments, helped develop in 2000 high-performance guidelines for construction projects. Jyoti Sharma, senior director of facilities at the Wake County district, says that for the first projects developed under those guidelines, Wake County had to seek out and help educate designers and builders about sustainable practices and products.
"Over the years, more and more designers and builders have begun pushing green design," says Sharma. "Green has gone mainstream."
As an early proponent of green design, Wake County has 19 schools and three prototype designs that are considered green schools under the Triangle J high-performance guidelines. The sustainable elements in the various schools include daylighting, rainwater-collection systems, solar water heating, recycling of construction materials, drought-resistant plants, and energy-efficient heating and mechanical systems.
"I feel really good about where we went," says Sharma, who is leaving Wake County to work for a school system in Abu Dhabi. "I hope that green design has become part of the culture here."
Still, Sharma wishes there had been more progress in some areas of green design.
"I wish we could have made more progress with renewable energy. I'd like to see solar panels on every square inch of roof — but it's not cost-effective yet."
Another aspect missing from the early green school projects, says Sharma, was following and monitoring the building projects to see if they were delivering energy savings and performing as promised. "The last four years we have had a good commissioning program," says Sharma. "You need to have measurement and verification."
Although Wake County boasts that many of its school facilities are green, that designation is based on the district's own assessment of how it followed the Triangle J high-performance guidelines. Under Sharma's urging, the district has decided to begin seeking LEED certification so that the effectiveness of its green initiatives could be verified by an outside organization.
- Read the "Sustainable housing" sidebar for information on how Elmhurst College worked to design a residence hall with the aim of receiving a silver LEED rating.
- Read the "Green comeback" sidebar for information on Greensburg, Kan., school officials used the destruction wrought by a F5 tornado to rebuild using green design concepts.
Kennedy can be reached at mkennedy@asumag.com.
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