Two School Projects Selected for AIA’s Top 10 Green List
WASHINGTON — The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment selected two schools as part of its top 10 green projects for 2009.
The Charles Hostler Student Center on the campus of the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, submitted by VJAA of Minneapolis, Minn., and the Chartwell School campus in Seaside, Calif., submitted by EHDD Architecture of San Francisco, were selected by the committee and will be honored at the AIA national convention in April.
The 204,000-square-foot Charles Hostler Student Center, completed in February 2008, is oriented in an east-west direction to reduce southern exposure and shade exterior courtyards.
The placement of structures forms a symbiotic relationship with the region’s climate to redistribute air, shade and activity, according to designers. The movement of human traffic through the facility naturally condenses at different locations that are designed with microclimates to reduce the need for energy and water consumption.
The one building, 21,200-square-foot Chartwell School campus, completed in October 2006, serves 1st through 8th grades and is LEED Platinum certified. The goal of the design was to incorporate strategies proven to improve learning outcomes, according to designers.
The design uses tall, north-facing windows and clerestories to harness daylight. Sloping shed roofs support photovoltaic energy systems and radiant heat allows for a quiet learning environment by reducing the size of mechanical equipment and mechanical rooms, according to designers. The structure was framed at two feet on center, which reduced the amount of lumber used on the project and construction costs.
California boasts the most projects on the top ten, with an apartment complex in San Jose and a town center in Portola Valley also making the list.
Other top 10 green projects include the eadquarters for the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Yarmouthport, Mass., designed by DesignLAB Architects of Boston, which is certified LEED Gold.; and the Great River Energy headquarters in Maple Grove, Minn., designed by Perkins + Will of Minneapolis.