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Sonoma County Junior College District to Overhaul Campus Facilities

SANTA ROSA, Calif. — The Santa Rosa-based Sonoma County Junior College District (SCJCD) will soon undergo sweeping facilities upgrades. The 100-year-old district is partnering with the joint-venture team of international architecture, planning, design and consulting firm Gensler and Santa Rosa-based education industry master planning, design and construction administration firm Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (Gensler+QKA) to complete a new master plan.

Gensler+QKA will develop a district-wide facilities master plan for SCJCD to be implemented on all five campuses in Sonoma County, which includes the Santa Rosa Junior College Campus and Southwest Center in Santa Rosa, Petaluma Campus in Petaluma, Shone Farm in Forestville and the Public Safety Training Center in Windsor. The project will be funded as part of the $410 million Measure H bond passed by voters in 2014.

“We are excited to kick off our 2030 Plan for Measure H, which includes a major overhaul of campus facilities in order to support our future students’ learning needs as well as the future employee needs of Sonoma County,” said Dr. Frank Chong, Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) superintendent and president, in a statement. “Gensler+QKA is a remarkable combination of a locally immersed, education-focused firm and a multi-industry firm that pulls from its worldwide experience. They are working closely with architect and planning professional Leigh Sata, our director of capital projects, who has an extensive background working on California college bond projects.”

Approximately 50 percent of Sonoma County high school graduates rely on SRJC for local affordable higher education, according to the SCJCD. With Measure H funding, the district will seek to improve students’ educational experiences and alleviate overcrowding through a variety of facilities renovations and seismic retrofitting. This will specifically include modernizing classrooms, laboratories and other teaching spaces dedicated to fast-growing job sectors such as math and science. The future campuses and classrooms will undergo significant technology upgrades as well, and will soon house expanded and new career technical education programs. Funding will also support updating teaching equipment and tools as well as seismic retrofitting.

“We look forward to working with a talented and experienced team of professionals from Gensler and QKA,” Sata said in a statement. “Using the district’s strategic and educational plans to guide our facilities planning efforts, it’s going to be a true team effort.”

“We are steadfast in leading SCJCD’s 2030 Plan into a customized transformative experience and modern upgrades for each campus,” said Karen Kuklin, the project’s lead director and a San Francisco studio director at Gensler, in a statement.

Gensler+QKA currently is conducting a full condition and needs assessment of buildings and building systems, with a particular focus on energy efficiency, health and comfort, water and wastewater systems and management, and site and habitat needs. The project’s second phase will include an analysis of demographic and education trends within the county with future needs for academic programs informing the facilities master plan. The eventual master plan will include architectural and landscape blueprints, technology systems design and the creation of a building program for each campus.

“Having worked with Santa Rosa Junior College before, and considering our immersion in shaping Sonoma County’s high-profile educational landscape, we feel a close connection to this important and renowned institution,” said Steve Kwok, a principal at QKA and the project’s lead architect, in a statement. “We have a clear vision for how the master plan and campus design process should unfold.”

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San Mateo High School Project Wins Modernization Award

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Santa Rosa-based Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) was recently honored with the Leroy F. Greene Design and Planning Award — as well as an Award of Excellence in the Modernization category — for its San Mateo High School Old Brick Studio project, completed for the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) in August 2015. Both awards were given by the Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.) in partnership with the American Institute of Architects California Council (AIACC) at the 37th Annual C.A.S.H. Conference on Feb. 23 in Sacramento.

Originally constructed in the 1920s as a Shops Building, SMUHSD’s “Old Brick Studio” was in dire need of restoration and renovation. The historic, but long neglected, structure on the San Mateo High School campus had over the years fallen into disrepair.

Making use of the centrally located building’s vastness, northern clerestory light and industrial materials — including original brick and concrete — QKA re-envisioned the building to provide art studios, general education classrooms and large meeting spaces. The new and improved 20,000-square-foot building been seismically upgraded throughout, historically restored on the exterior, and enhanced with new technology and modern amenities, including the ability to function as a black box theater for student and community performances. The project achieved high Collaborative for High Performance School scores for reuse, conservation, restoration of existing materials, sustainable new materials and natural light and ventilation.

“As architects, it all comes together for us when we have the opportunity to design modernizations and restorations of historic buildings,” said QKA Principal Mark Quattrocchi in a statement. “Having worked on the San Mateo High School campus previously as well as other sites throughout the district, it was a thrill to collaborate with our colleagues and friends to bring this previous vocational shops building —the last remaining original building on campus — to modern use for today’s students and staff. The abundance of natural light and original high ceilings makes the building an ideal space for art studios, large group meetings and performances.”

The purpose of the Leroy F. Greene Design and Planning Awards Program is to enhance the educational programs available to California public school students by recognizing exceptional architectural and program implementation in the design of public school facilities, according to a statement by QKA. Nominated projects are evaluated based on planning process, learning environment of the facility, design, community environment, physical environment, and the role of high performance/sustainability in the planning and design of the project.

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New Homestead High Addition Improves Connectivity

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Students, staff, district officials, parents and project team members gathered last month for the unveiling of Homestead High School’s new student quad in Cupertino. The ribbon-cutting event offered those gathered a first glimpse at the new quad, which includes a cafeteria building, three new science classrooms and repurposed outdoor spaces.

Designed by Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) of Santa Rosa, Calif., the new quad will serve as a central connection for student activity. The 17,000-square-foot space significantly modernizes the school campus, and remedies numerous visual barriers and accessibility issues that previously existed. It provides ample outdoor seating areas, a sloping artificial turf for student gathering, and informal amphitheater seating and a raised platform for student performances and presentations.

Meanwhile, the new cafeteria building — which replaced an older building that was demolished — comprises a café, food court and kitchen facilities, all contained beneath a lofty ceiling. A fully glazed wall with roll up doors and clerestory windows connects the dining space to the quad, giving it a more open and inviting character than the previous dining and servery space offered.

The cafeteria also has the potential to serve multiple uses. For example, the high ceilings provide an ideal indoor practice space for the school’s cheerleading, drill and flag teams. From an academic perspective, the three new science classrooms and prep spaces will accommodate growing enrollment in the school’s award-winning programs.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this new highly-functional and beautiful space we have for our students at Homestead to utilize,” said Fremont Union High School District Communications Coordinator Sue Larson in a statement. “We already have top-notch programs and educators and now have the facilities to match. We thank the entire project team for their creative, inspiring and dedicated work.”

“QKA has enjoyed a great relationship with FUHSD over the past few years, including the opening of the new Student Union at Cupertino High School in 2014, and it’s a fun opportunity for us to design spaces for the tech-minded Silicon Valley community,” said QKA Principal Mark Quattrocchi in a statement. “Similar to Cupertino, with this project for Homestead we wanted to mirror the open, collaborative environments of many of the office campuses in the area. I think we were successful and I look forward to seeing the students enjoy the space.”

Construction on the approximately $10 million quad building used a strong structural grid system; keeping costs low and concentrating funds on areas that will most impact the student experience. For instance, increasing daylighting through optimal window design was a particular focus of the project, reducing the need for artificial lighting in most spaces.

The project was funded by a $198 million modernization bond program that passed in June 2008, and is part of the district’s Implementation Master Plan. This bond also provided for improvement, expansion and sustainability projects at four other local high schools.

The project team included general contractor Lathrop Construction Associates Inc. of Benicia, Calif., program manager Kitchell of Phoenix and landscape architect Carducci & Associates Inc. of San Francisco.

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San Mateo Theater Debuts as Multipurpose Educational Space

Twenty-first century performing arts theaters serve more than just performing arts functions in today’s schools. Students and staff — as well as the rest of the community — use them for everything from presentations to video projections to discussion forums. As a result, the theater’s multipurpose role is affecting the way architects design performing arts spaces. This was certainly the case for the design of the newly renovated, 1,540-seat, 55,000-square-foot San Mateo Performing Arts Center (SMPAC) at San Mateo High School in San Mateo, Calif.

“[School] principals have said how surprised they are about how many teachers use the theaters for other projects,” said Mark Quattrocchi, principal at Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA), the architect on the project. “In the 21st century learning environment, [the theater] is an important facility to have because the staff and students are using it for so much more during the school day. It affects a lot of the media and technology that we make available in the theater — particularly video projection.”

The $28 million SMPAC underwent an extensive demolition, reconstruction and renovation completed in October, making it the largest theater between San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. It features a new basement space, lobby, seating area, orchestra pit and fly loft. The center was originally built in 1963 and, although it was a large theater space, that was basically its only highlight, Quattrocchi said. The facility had bad lighting, audio and terrible seating and was poorly designed in terms of handicap accessibility, he added.

“The goal was to create a brand-new, state of-the art theater for both high school and community use,” Quattrocchi said. “We created a balcony and mezzanine seats so that now there’s an upper level. The whole audience is much closer to the stage, providing a much more intimate experience. There is no bad seat in the house both visually and acoustically.”

In addition to QKA, the project team consisted of Sonoma, Calif.-based Greystone West, which served as the construction manager; San Francisco-based Cahill Construction as the general contractor; and San Francisco-based Shalleck Collaborative as the theatrical consultant.

Students & Staff Get Technical

The design team worked closely with a committee from the high school that consisted of drama, music and dance instructors, as well as met with students to talk about how they used the theater. Quattrocchi said they received very specific feedback about what kind of lighting and sound systems needed to be incorporated in order to meet the multiuse requirements for the space.

As a result, sophisticated sound and lighting systems were put in place. With three main lighting catwalks a full technical ledge, lighting bars and a computer control lighting panel, the theater provides the lighting needs for any event, including a soloist, full orchestration, dramatic performance, choir, lecture or speaking forum. House lighting includes wall sconces to allow varied house lighting moods depending on the event.

The acoustics are just as noteworthy. The highly tuned house and stage volume provides acoustics for all types of speaking, musical, choral and dramatic events. Suspended “acoustical clouds” and specially designed side and rear wall finishes ensure all seats have clear, un-reverberant sound. Plus, the stage and house is equipped with wired and wireless technologies for presentations including a large format video screen and sound reinforcement.

One of the other elements the staff and students thought the theater needed was to have a great sense of entry and sense of place, which is why QKA created a very dramatic three-story lobby with a three-story glass wall facing the public. The lobby features enhanced patron services, such as concessions and bathrooms distributed throughout the main and mezzanine levels to reduce congestion, as well as audio and video screens for broadcasting performances.

“The lobby’s three-story glass wall serves as a beacon, welcoming theater-goers for evening events, much like archetypal theaters of the past,” Quattrocchi said.

Apart from the massive size of the theater and the technical systems involved in creating it, there are some other major theatrical elements that make this facility unique, particularly for a public school. For instance, it has a fly loft in which “scenes are literally thrown up into the air above the stage,” Quattrocchi said. The fly loft provides 50 separately controlled battens that can fly scenery out of view or onto the stage — both manually back stage and remotely from the control room — for immediate scene changes.

The theater also has an orchestra pit that includes an orchestra lift — something that, in Quattrocchi’s 28 years of experience, he had never designed. It allows the floor of the entire orchestra pit to be moved from the basement level to for the purpose of moving sets, to the orchestra level for performances and musicals, to the house level to provide extra seating for levels, or even to the stage level to provide a stage thrust when the orchestra is not needed. All of this movement happens simply with the push of a button.

QKA designed SMPAC using energy savings criteria from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools as opposed to LEED. Some of the center’s energy-efficient features include daylighting in the lobby to reduce demand on artificial lighting. Plus, the project team used many recycled and readily renewable materials to build the facility.

The biggest challenge on the project was working on an active high school site. By working collaboratively with the school district and the general contractor, however, they were able to complete the project within about three years.

The Arts Matter
Quattrocchi said that he believes the SMPAC renovation is part of a resurgence and interest in the arts across the nation. “It’s a nice thing to see the arts matter,” he said.
QKA alone finished three performing arts centers for the San Mateo Union High School District in fall 2013. In addition to SMPAC, the architecture firm worked on a renovated theater at Mills High School and a new theater at Hillsdale High School.

The Mills High School theater underwent an extensive remodel and upgrading of amenities to replace its previous auditorium. It now features a two-story glass lobby that faces the quad, moveable acoustics and multiple catwalks. The previous Hillsdale High School auditorium was inadequately sized and underused, so it was replaced and expanded to become an inviting space that offered a better variety of performing arts features. The theater boasts a new lobby with quarry tile columns and two-story glass walls. Both Mills and Hillsdale High School theaters seat 780 guests.

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Designing Schools for 21st Century Learning

School design is crucial in order to accommodate the changing needs of students, staff and teachers. Architects have been working side-by-side with school officials to deliver spaces that provide the best opportunities for student learning. With new technologies and innovative teaching methods, classroom spaces have become more than just desk-filled rooms. These new classroom designs feature flexible learning spaces that have the ability to take student learning to the next level. I sat down with two well-known and experienced architects to get their thoughts on designing schools for 21st century learning and saw a trend that will hopefully only increase as more schools launch new construction and renovation projects.

Mark Quattrocchi, AIA, principal, Quattrocchi Kwok Architects
Since establishing Quattrocchi Kwok Architects in 1986, Mark Quattrocchi has designed numerous public and private projects. Highly knowledgeable in client responsive design, Quattrocchi has lectured at conferences and workshops, including the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, the California Association of Independent Schools, and a symposium on 21st century schools for the San Diego Unified School District.

Laura Wernick, AIA, REFP, LEED AP, senior principal, HMFH Architects Inc.
Laura Wernick is a senior principal with HMFH Architects Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., architecture firm focused on the academic market. A registered architect and Recognized Educational Facilities Planner, she is extremely active in the national dialogue on architecture and education.

Q: What does it mean to design schools for 21st century learning?
Quattrocchi: To answer that question, first you have to look back to what has been done before. If we look back at the late 19th to the 20th century, school designs were really more around a factory model. Students would start first grade on one side of the school and march their way through a series of boxes, sometimes referred to as cells and bells. A teacher gives the student the information, the student tests on it and moves on to the next grade. That may have worked well with some of the skills we expected from the workforce going off to college in parts of the 20th century, but if you look at 21st century skills and as an employer myself, the skills are very different now. Suddenly we look for teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking skills and problem solving. We look for different things in the workforce now, so we begin to question, ‘Should we look at the way we teach differently?’
It’s been researched and proven that standing up and lecturing on a topic to a student is the least effective way for students to learn. Everyone learns differently, so what we’ve seen is that maybe 21st century teaching should be finding a variety of ways to teach for students so they can better access information. So now, as an architect, it begins to make me ask the question, ‘Well, then do we design a classroom differently?’

If teachers are teaching differently and working with students in big groups, or if students are working in small groups, or if there’s peer-to-peer individualized learning and even technology-infused learning, that implies a very different type of space, so perhaps we need to look at a classroom in a very different fashion than we did before.

Wernick: It means that the school has been designed with an understanding of the latest neurological research on how we learn, and it means that the school has been designed to be energy efficient and sustainable. Brain research tells us that we learn best when we are actively constructing solutions to problems, particularly when there are hand/mind interactions.

We also know that different people learn in different ways, so we need a variety of spaces to support different learning styles and different size groups. These spaces should be manipulated easily, either with furniture or movable displays, providing space for both active and reflective learning and with opportunities for performance, movement, presentation, experimentation and a range of social interactions and collaborative exploration. It is also critical that the learning take place in an environment that is both interesting and a memorable place to inhabit.

Finally, having a school where natural lighting is used generously and wisely, and where there is a high degree of thermal comfort and indoor air quality, helps create a healthy and supportive environment for learning.

Q: What are some recent projects you’ve worked on and how have you designed these schools to fit the needs of 21st century learning environments?
Quattrocchi: There are a couple projects that I’ve worked on that really show how you can design a school for 21st century learning. A recent project we just completed was Ross School. One of the things we find is that when we sit down and ask teachers questions, any architect that is good at what he does, doesn’t design the last school he did and doesn’t design the school that he or she went to, but asks those teachers who are teaching and beginning to explore 21st century learning what would be different. So we grouped classrooms together, For example, when the third- and second-grade classrooms are clustered together as opposed to being in a row, there are connections between classrooms that allow teachers to begin to share. There are also common areas you can send students to and supervise them. So a group of students could be working on a project in this common area and there will be lots of eyes on what those kids are doing so they can function differently. Within the classrooms, there are greater opportunities for students to work in small groups while something else is happening in another part of the classroom.

Lastly, the use of technology, which I think is a huge part of what 21st century learning will end up being about. We’re seeing the use of interactive whiteboards — and you’ll see that at Ross School. If you really look towards the future, though, it’s really things like mobile devices, iPads and interactive television screens. In Corte Madera, Calif., we’re designing a school called the San Clemente School for the Larkspur/Corte Madera School District that will have about 450 students, but this school is uniquely different. At the Ross School they still have separate classrooms, although they are clustered around each other; at San Clemente School, when we sat down and began to talk to these teachers and the superintendent, they began to question even the notion of separate classrooms. So now what they’ll have is something we call ‘learning suites.’ This involves two teachers working together with anywhere from 40 to 50 students. So right away, it’s not a separate, self-contained classroom — we have two teachers collaborating and working with a bigger group of students, and that alone is a revolutionary shift.

For me, as an architect, it means a bigger space, but they challenged us by saying they wanted to hold a variety of activities simultaneously. They wanted the space big enough so they could gather the whole group of students, but they also wanted to be able to quickly move students if they want to break out in smaller groups or have students work on different projects. The design of the learning suites really became what the staff referred to as the ‘nooks and crannies’. The learning suites have the ability to be separated as well by a sliding glass wall, so if a large group needs to meet and make a lot of noise while a smaller group is working in the same space, you can divide the room in half to accommodate the needs of everyone.

Wernick: All of our schools are designed to meet or exceed all health and life safety codes. All of our schools are designed to exceed current energy codes. If schools are built to be energy efficient, flexible and to endure, then they will stand the test of time. Our Rashi School in Dedham, Mass., is a great example. The building is full of natural light. The plan is simple and clear and encourages informal interactions. There are a variety of both specifically programmed and more flexible spaces, allowing for a range of activities. The school is very welcoming to parents and the community. The materials are durable and easy to clean and the building is highly energy efficient. We make use of high-efficiency lighting, including LED lighting, sensors in classrooms to minimize artificial light, as well as efficient variable drive motors and low-flow fixtures, among other energy saving components. The building is designed for photovoltaic panels.

We are just completing three new elementary schools in Concord, N.H. The classrooms are designed around an open, sky-lit Learning Commons containing a range of spaces for collaborative learning, for project-based activities, for storytelling and for media presentations. The Learning Commons are colorful, dynamic and filled with natural light. With different colored tiles creating rhythm and pattern and playing off warm wood paneling, the schools are both memorable for the children but also designed with the adult in mind. The building is infused throughout with technology. Learning will happen everywhere. Teachers will no longer be constrained by the four walls of their classrooms and parents will be encouraged to participate in activities taking place in the Learning Commons. By creating options for teaching and learning, the faculty is able to assure that every child is able to reach his or her potential.

Q: When did you first start seeing a change in design and realize that designing schools for 21st century leaning was something that really needed to be addressed?
Quattrocchi: I started seeing this as early as the mid-90s. My first real experience with this was with two high schools we were designing around the same time: one school in San Juan Batista, Calif., called Anzar High School and also Windsor High School in Windsor, Calif. Instead of having departmentalized classrooms where every subject was in a certain area and none of the classrooms really met, these schools had a different idea. The teachers started thinking maybe it would be better if we group a smaller group of students in clusters that they call a Small Learning Community (SLC) and move all those decentralized spaces into a series of these SLCs. At Anzar and Windsor High School, there are four small SLCs, and in each one they have science classrooms and then a variety of general classrooms that are used by history, language arts and math teachers. The SLCs made it so the teachers could work together, talk about the students and teach across the curriculum. It’s a much more integrated learning environment, and that was really my first experience with seeing that teachers weren’t quite working in the same way that they used to.

Wernick: School design is always evolving. Certainly in the past 10 years there have been enormous changes simply due to the growing importance of technology and the evolution of the computer from large desktop to handheld device. The ability to support technology in the classroom and to support collaborative use of technology is continuing to impact how schools are designed. A growing awareness of energy efficiency has resulted in new materials and systems that have impacted school design. For example, everything from rapidly renewable materials to daylight dimming sensors to LED lighting is now common within schools.

Equally important, the neurological knowledge of how the brain learns has grown significantly in the last decade, allowing us to better shape the environment to support the activities and experiences that most directly impact learning.

Q: In your opinion, how does design impact student learning?
Quattrocchi: One of the roles of an architect is to listen very carefully to the people we design for to see that the things they want work best for them. In order to have a design that really works, I observe the teachers in their current atmosphere and see how they teach, so I could find a way to translate the language of education into the language of building.

Some teachers that I’ve come across were working in portables, which are some of the most inflexible and unattractive spaces to work in, and these teachers were doing outstanding work in a series of portables. The lesson to me was: Architecture doesn’t make good teachers, but we can do a lot to help support teachers do good teaching. So if I spent time with them and see how they do it and understand what their needs are, maybe I can make a whole different kind of classroom than we’re all sort of used to making before.

Wernick: Research has shown that good natural light and views of the outdoors, as well as good thermal comfort, directly impact a student’s ability to learn. There is also evidence showing that students learn best through active problem solving, hands-on project-based activities and collaborative interactions with others. Schools can be designed to better support these types of learning modes.

Q: When you start a project now, what are some of the "must-haves" schools tell you they need in the design? How is this different from say, five or10 years ago?
Quattrocchi: The things that I hear the most for 21st century learning environments is having highly flexible and adaptable spaces. They want to be able to manipulate the room to accommodate a whole variety of different ways for students to work. Furniture is a big concern and it’s hard to believe that would be an issue, but while talking to teachers they say, ’I would do more of this but my tables are so hard to move and it’s such a hassle.’ Using furniture on wheels is a great way to solve this and we’ve done this in other school designs before, including American Canyon High School in American Canyon, Calif.

Teachers also want the ability to change the room and that could be by incorporating a divider in the classroom. This way, students can break out in smaller groups quickly without having to move to a different room. Teachers also wanted to break away from the ’teaching wall,’ which just means they didn’t want a designated area to teach, but instead maneuver around the classroom and teach from all angles.

Wernick: The must-haves include areas for project-based learning and either learning commons or libraries that are designed to support a range of activities including collaborative use of technology, presentation, social interactions and project areas. These are taking the place of more traditional libraries, particularly as the density of books required declines and the need for active problem solving increases.
More flexible and more soft furnishings are now being requested. Dedicated computer rooms are rarely requested as computers become smaller and access to computers is more ubiquitous.

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California High School Expects to Save Money and Environment With Solar Panels

AMERICAN CANYON, Calif. — SPG Solar and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA), both based in Santa Rosa, Calif., installed a 1-megawatt DC ground and rooftop solar power system at American Canyon High School (ACHS), part of the Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD).

The new energy system is projected to save up to $17 million over the next 25 years, according to Jennifer Monteleone, vice president of marketing at SPG Solar. At capacity, the system will provide 80 percent of the electricity for the school and produce more than 1.1 million kilowatt-hours annually, enough to power more than 105 American homes annually.

The system will also save NVUSD money by earning solar renewable energy credits from any unused electricity generated by the solar power system. The cost savings could be significant, especially during the summer months when students are not regularly attending classes.

“This system will provide long-term financial savings and hands-on learning for the students about the positive impact of solar power,” said Chris Robine, CEO and president of SPG Solar.

The project consists of more than 4,000 solar panels installed on the roof and grounds of the school and will serve as the main power provider for the campus.

The total installation cost for the system was $5 million, according to Don Evans, head of NVUSD’s planning and construction. However, funds reserved for the school’s construction budget offset 65 percent of the cost and Pacific Gas & Electric rebates accounted for the remaining 35 percent of the costs.

ACHS is certified by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), a program similar to LEED. CHPS provides a green building rating system for K-12 schools and awarded American Canyon High School the highest rating in California.

The 680 students enrolled at ACHS, as well as others in the NVUSD, will benefit from the school’s sustainable energy efforts. Since the school has not yet reached its capacity of 2,200 students, the savings from the solar power system are currently estimated to be at 100 percent. However, once the school meets capacity, about 80 percent of the school’s electricity will be generated by the solar panels.

NVUSD will also unveil another campus with a solar power system in a month. New Tech High School in Napa, Calif., will have the same system as ACHS but on a relatively smaller scale. The $2 million project by Sacramento, Calif.-based Roebbelen Construction, is a continuation of the school’s “go green” design. New Tech High School also features an irrigation system designed to process reclaimed water to irrigate plants around the facility.

The benefits of a solar power system will not only save schools money over the years, but will also help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide entering the air by 780,000 pounds per year.

“The new solar power system at American Canyon High School is an excellent example of NVUSD’s leadership. By building upon the sustainable design of their campus and showing their commitment to the environment, the district will save a significant amount of money that can now be used for educational purposes,” said Aaron Jobson, principal at Quattrocchi Kwok Architects.

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