Sensitive Issues

The windmill produces useable power.

The familiar saying, “If you’re going to do something, do it right,” may sound old-fashioned, but its meaning is always relevant. To Dallas architects SHW Group and their team of consultants, such thinking led to the design of Roy Lee Walker Elementary School, considered one of the country’s most comprehensive sustainable schools. Many new construction projects include elements of “green design,” but this 68,000-square-foot school goes several steps further, incorporating such features as sundials, rainwater harvesting, and solar energy collection, among others.

Located on an 8.5-acre site in McKinney, Texas, the $9.3 million school was completed in 2000 and won a Citation Award in our 2001 design awards competition. But, this school is about more than design. The building’s special features are incorporated into its curriculum-what the district calls Eco-Education-so students learn how such things effect their environment.

Sustainable Features

Daylighting is considered the school’s key feature, and enough natural sunlight is collected each day to completely illuminate the school. Monitors on the roof collect sunlight, which is then bounced off a series of baffles and filtered into the classrooms. The school attributes higher attendance, increased concentration levels, and better scholastic performance to the natural lighting. Tooth decay also was reported to be nine times less as a result of the sunlight.

Rainwater harvesting and natural landscaping work together to lessen the school’s impact on the environment. High-maintenance, manicured grounds give way to native plants that thrive in this climate. When watering is necessary, the sprinkler system sources the water from one of six rain water-filled cisterns; the cisterns are kept full by special gutters that collect and channel rain water into them.

Alternative energy sources supply the school with power. A 30-foot-high windmill standing alongside the school is more than a decorative element; it’s used to convert wind into power, operating, among other things, the school’s sprinkler system mentioned above. Solar energy is used to produce the school’s hot water supply.

Academics have improved as a result of the natural daylighting.

While the school’s clocks keep track of time the traditional way, two, large sundials track time in a historic manner. Students have fun trying to tell time with the sundials, which also help them identify the longest and shortest days of the year, June 21 and Dec. 21, respectively.

During construction, the contractor, Pogue Inc., was required to recycle building scraps. Three separate dumpsters were brought in and it became someone’s full-time job to monitor the disposal process. Only local products were used in an effort to cut down on pollution caused by transportation. The products had to be recycled or otherwise environmentally-friendly and could not have glue or other toxic elements.

Long-Lasting Effect

While this school is designed to help the environment today, SHW Group says it actually was built for the future-the sustainable environment will adapt to changes around it and the facility won’t have any more of an impact on its surroundings than it does now.