New campus in Vail (Ariz.) district aims for LEED platinum

From The Arizona Daily Star: Classes are scheduled to begin this week at the new Vail Academy and High School in the Vail (Ariz.) district. Officials say the campus has been designed to receive a platinum LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The most visible evidence of the school's ecological commitment are several wind turbines atop light poles in the parking lot and rows of photovoltaic panels lining the roof. Other green features are recycled denim insulation, motion sensors to shut off lights in empty classrooms, air conditioner overrides limiting usage when the building is largely empty, an extensive water-harvesting system to capture rain for landscape irrigation and a regimen radically limiting construction waste sent to the landfill.