Student Performance in 21st Century Schools
COMPLEXITY CASE STUDY
Dr. Kirk Lewis Career & Technical High School (CTHS)
Photos courtesy of Construction Specialties/IBI Group Inc
Location: Pasadena Independent School District, Houston, Texas
Architect: IBI Group, Inc.
The Project: Completed in the fall of 2014, Pasadena Independent School District’s Dr. Kirk Lewis Career & Technical High School (CTHS) features innovative learning academies, which include technology, transportation, health, food service, construction, business, agricultural, and career guidance.
The Design: The design team wanted the hallways of the 248,000-square-foot, two-story CTHS to be inspirational, timeless, and “cool.” At the same time, durability was essential. School corridors are high-traffic areas with walls that take abuse from everything from backpacks to shoes. These corridor walls had to be easily cleaned, low to no maintenance, long lasting, and durable. These criteria could not be met by traditional protective wall covering products. Therefore, to brand the school’s multiple academy locations, spark enthusiasm for learning, generate school pride, and provide a sense of wayfinding, IBI Group, Inc. brightened the school’s corridors with bright, bold, relevant, and innovative graphics that immediately became a popular backdrop for student selfies and student and school social media. The designs incorporated high-resolution digital imagery of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and others into the public corridors. Each image was relevant to the academy it was branding and made wayfinding easier given the school’s large footprint.
The Results: PETG wall protection with the capability to print imagery on the reverse side was chosen to transform CTHS’ high-traffic corridors, used by more than 1,600 students, into timeless, motivational, selfie-inspiring works of art that will be preserved for years to come. Interior designer Rutu Sathia, LEED AP ID+C of IBI Group Inc., comments, “With PETG protection, we had endless possibilities and were able to bring our digital visions to life to add excitement in the corridors of the school.” Steven Fleming, principal of CTHS, adds, “The hallways of our school get an A+ for design, function, and durability. They motivate and energize students even before they get into the classroom. And our school officials can rest easy knowing that our custom walls can stand the test of time of high school wear and tear.”
NATURAL LIGHT CASE STUDY
Owego Elementary School
Photos courtesy of Guardian Glass/Guy Cali Associates
Location: Owego, New York
Architect: Highland Associates
The Project: Owego Elementary School in Owego, New York, was a complete loss after Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. Highland Associates worked hand in hand with the school district, FEMA, the New York State Education Department, and the state of New York to design a new, state-of-the-art school that welcomed students in 2016.
The Design: A 120,000-square-foot building can be very overwhelming, especially to a 4-year-old going to school for the first time. Therefore, David K. Degnon, senior associate of Highland, explains that he designed the school, both in plan and in elevation, to be broken down in a much more pedestrian scale. Highland purposely placed the one-story wing closer to the community, and it gradually rises to a two-story volume. In order not to have long tunnel-like corridors, the corridors are bent and broken, creating intermittent learning spaces that are filled with natural daylight and views of the outdoors. The design provides unobstructed views of the outdoors in more than 90 percent of the occupied spaces, an important consideration given that multiple studies prove students perform better with natural light and outside views.
The Results: “It was one of our goals from the inception of the project to design spaces for learning beyond the traditional classroom,” Degnon explains. “For that reason, the spaces have a sense of relaxed vitality that comes only with a strong connection to the outdoors. This would not be possible without the strategic use of specialized glass products.” The glazing selected brings the U-value performance of the double-glazed units closer to that of triple glazed, improving performance where maximum heat flow resistance is needed but still allowing abundant natural light. This combination of glass products has a 60 percent visible light transmission and a low 0.26 solar heat gain coefficient for an impressive light-to-solar gain ratio of 2.34. The school has applied for LEED Silver certification.
SUN CONTROL CASE STUDY
Sidwell Friends School
Photo courtesy of Construction Specialties
Location: Washington, D.C.
Architect: KiernanTimberlake Associates LLP
The Project: The Sidwell Friends School may be the nation’s most environmentally friendly school. Committed to environmental stewardship, Sidwell directed architect KiernanTimberlake to design a sustainable middle school that also provided an enhanced learning environment.
The Design: The design uses daylight as a key element of its strategy to minimize energy use. Controlling glare and light distribution were important to achieve a suitable learning environment too. Working with the manufacturer’s design team, the architect specified 4½-feet-deep cantilevered sunshades with 6-inch airfoil blades for the school’s southern exposure. The sunshades reduce heat and glare while allowing light to enter the interior. Reflective lightshelves were also employed to direct natural daylight deep into the classrooms and hallways.
Results: Computer models indicate that the sunshades and lightshelves, in conjunction with other daylight strategies, help this facility reduce the energy associated with lighting by 92 percent when compared to a typical code compliant building. The building achieved LEED Platinum certification in 2007 and has been recognized as an AIA COTE Top 10 Award winner.
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