Event Spotlights Healthy, High-Performing Facilities

School facilities and their connections to learning were the focus of School Building Week, April 7-11, 2003. The Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) established School Building Week to highlight what schools can do to create high-performing, healthy, safe, and sustainable buildings that foster student achievement and provide centers of community. Now in its seventh year, School Building Week is an opportunity to educate the public-as well as policy makers and legislators-regarding the significance of school facilities and the need to improve them.

Collaborating on the event with CEFPI were the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Additionally, more than 35 associations and agencies partnered in this year’s endeavor, which has grown from a one-day celebration to a weeklong event that includes school districts from across the nation.

The nation’s capital served as the backdrop for the event, with middle school students from District of Columbia Public Schools participating in a design competition that challenged them to create their ideal learning environments. Architectural students from Howard University and the University of Maryland led the students through a six-week program focused on good planning and design in the built environment. Together, the middle school students and the college students explored indoor air quality issues, environmental stewardship, and energy-saving measures, which they incorporated into their designs. Addressing common problems in imaginative and innovative ways, the student projects exhibited a sense of joy in learning and a strong sense of community. Utilizing vivid colors, they added whimsical touches-such as a moving walkway in a cafeteria-to their technically well-executed designs. The juried student projects were displayed at the commemorative event held at the National Building Museum on April 11.

Howard Decker, chief curator of the National Building Museum, welcomed the gathering, while opening keynote John P. Millhone, program manager of the DOE’s Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, congratulated the students on their efforts to conserve energy in their own schools. Noting that today’s school energy costs total $6 billion, he encouraged architects to continue implementing innovative building programs, including proper siting, daylighting, solar energy, and the use of resource-efficient materials in schools to preserve our environment and to lower energy costs.

Steve Young, REFP, CEFPI president, spoke of research demonstrating that good quality school buildings have a profound effect on student performance. "As centers of community and spaces for lifelong learning, schools must receive our highest attention," Young said.

Jeffrey Holmstead, assistant administrator for Air and Radiation, EPA, urged facility planners to continue weaving their magic in creating engaging, healthy, high-performing schools. Acknowledging that the average age of our nation’s schools is about 42 years, Holmstead noted that these buildings often harbor poor indoor environments, increasing the risk for asthma and other health problems. Holmstead said the EPA is releasing new Web-based guidance materials encouraging schools to embrace the concept of designing and building high-performance schools. Entitled IAQ Design Tools for Schools, the program makes indoor air quality goals part of the school planning and design process from the very beginning, and will complement the current IAQ Tools for Schools program, which aims to help existing schools prevent and solve indoor air quality programs.

Hardy Middle School and Stuart-Hobson Middle School received top honors at the National Building Museum awards ceremony for their fresh interpretation of traditional learning spaces and their clearly articulated planning processes. Hardy offered numerous opportunities for extensive community participation in their "no holds barred" solutions, while Stuart-Hobson clearly defined the qualities that should be included in a good learning environment. Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings Inc. will honor these schools with new classroom floor coverings incorporating the students’ designs. The students really enjoyed donning their School Building Week T-shirts, donated by School Construction News. Additionally, AIA and School Construction News joined forces in hosting pizza parties for the winning classes. AIA executive vice president Norman L. Koonce, FAIA hosted a breakfast at AIA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 18 to honor the mentors for their leadership and fostering innovation and creativity in the design competition process.

Following a welcome by Mr. Koonce, Daniel Sze, director, Rebuild America, DOE, and Kevin Schiedel, 3D/International senior vice president and CEFPI member, commented on the importance of the program and highlighted School Building Week successes.

Noting the obvious delight of both students and mentors during the competition process, Lee Brockway, jury chair and principal emeritus of Fanning/Howey Associates Inc. remarked, "All the students are winners in this year’s competition." Presenting award plaques to the participating schools and certificates to each of the students, Brockway stated, "All of the projects spoke to basic, fundamental needs such as good air quality, environmental stewardship, and safety."

Sharing some of the jury comments, Brockway noted that Hart Middle School provided "vertical and horizontal connections fostering a strong sense of community academically and socially with an atrium, student lounges with balconies, and a media center rotunda." MacFarland offered "wonderful opportunities to integrate community into the learning," while Sousa students "clearly articulated what needed changing and how to accomplish those changes." Students at Evans found solutions to implement energy-saving concepts.

The jury included Howard Decker, chief curator, National Building Museum; Professor Amy Gardener, University of Maryland and Hillier; Judy Hoskens, senior education planner and project manager, Cuningham Group; George Springer, administrator, Washington Teachers Union, American Federation of Teachers; Yale Stenzler, YES Consulting LLC; Dan Sze, director, Rebuild America, U.S. Department of Energy; Kenni Walker and Suzannah Codlin, students at Howard University’s School of Architecture and Planning.

Barbara Worth is assistant director, public relations and policy, the Council of Educational Facility Planners International. She can be e-mailed at: barb@cefpi.org.