Innovative Design Recognized by Sustainable Building Industry Council

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council recognized Innovative Design as its first-place winner of the 2005 Exemplary Sustainable Building Awards. The firm won the national award for the energy- and water-efficient, environmentally sound Heritage Middle School, located in Wake Forest, N.C.

Heritage Middle School incorporates an extensive array of green, whole-building design elements.

Wake County Schools’ 150,000-square-foot Heritage Middle School incorporates an extensive array of green, whole-building design elements including a rainwater collection system that annually saves 1.8 million gallons of water, extensive daylighting throughout the school that reduces lighting needs by 43 percent and peak cooling loads by 24 percent, according to the company. A one acre constructed wetland minimizes runoff and nitrogen from entering nearby streams and a 250-square-foot solar thermal system heats water for the cafeteria. The project also included school-wide recycling and numerous green products and materials. Despite the comprehensive green strategies, the school was built $1.4 million under budget.

Jurors recognized the school design for its daylighting strategies, which provide glare-free natural light to classrooms, the gymnasium, cafeteria, band room, choir room and media center.

Mike Nicklas, FAIA, president of Innovative Design, describes the daylighting: “The reasons for incorporating the daylighting strategies are many. First, the lights are off over two-thirds of the time and the sunlight, which is brought into the spaces in very controlled ways, is full-spectrum. This results in considerable energy savings and provides the students and teachers with better light quality and a healthier indoor environment. It’s just easier for the students to read. Daylighting has proven to result in higher attendance and better performance. You can’t underestimate the importance of the physical environment to student performance. If we create pollutant-free, healthy, daylit spaces, everyone is going to perform better. That’s exactly what we have done at Heritage Middle School.”

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction rated Heritage Middle School as a “School of Distinction,” and it was the second highest in the state for improved grades in 2004.

The Wake County school system has been promoting sustainable design through the use of Triangle J Council of Government’s High Performance Guidelines, a locally modified version of the LEED rating system. The Heritage Middle School and Millbrook Elementary are Wake County Schools’ only gold-rated buildings

Also recognized by SBIC, for second place 2005 Exemplary Sustainable Building Awards, is Hickory Consortium/Arrowstreet Architects for the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in Boston [See FOM, page 12].

The SBIC also recognized HOK Architects, 2005 Best Sustainable Practice Awards, Educational Initiative, for its “The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design, second edition.”

The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the design, affordability, energy performance and environmental soundness of America’s buildings. In 2001 the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council established the Awards Program. The 2005 winners were announced on Dec. 15, 2005, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.