The design and construction team of Chicago-based Wight & Company and Pepper Construction, also based in Chicago, joined students, parents, teachers, administrators and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking.

“This school will be a tangible symbol of the community’s care and commitment to its children’s education,” said Leanne Meyer-Smith, vice president of architecture at Wight & Company, in a statement. “The aesthetic for the new Sunset Ridge School is very contextual to the neighborhood. We have incorporated elements and building materials that echo the warm, natural tones you see throughout the homes in Northfield.”

The centerpiece the new school’s design is a “village square” complete with performance and dining space and surrounded by “academic neighborhoods” that will be organized by grade level, physical education and music areas, according to Wight & Company. The design is intended to help foster a sense of unity. The building will also seek LEED certification, and will contain a library and learning center in the academic wing complete with a makerspace and science and language laboratories. Breakout rooms throughout will help facilitate individualized learning, and natural lighting will be used prominently throughout the interior spaces.

“We are thrilled to be embarking on a project of this stature that allows us to build a state-of-the art facility from the ground up,” said Superintendent Dr. Edward Stange in a statement. “The educational benefits to our students are outstanding and range from a much improved and larger gym facility, a dedicated theatre space and a variety of 21st century focused educational spaces. This new building will be an exceptional community asset for years to come.

“This is what we call ‘a future ready learning environment,’” Dr. Stange continued. “The process of learning in the school environment has evolved. It’s much more collaborative, interactive and technology-based, and this trend will continue, so we have to design learning spaces that can adapt to changing curriculum.”

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The three-story, 73,767-square-foot complex houses the physical science and life science departments, and opened in fall 2013. Apart from earning high LEED marks, the facility also integrates a number of sustainable strategies helping it achieve net-zero energy use as well. These strategies include the use of building-integrated photovoltaic panels (BIPV) connected to the campus PV systems, occupancy-sensor lighting, natural ventilation, abundant daylight, integrated building systems that respond to weather conditions, an energy-recovery system that converts exhaust air into energy, and exterior corridors and outdoors classrooms that reduce energy loads, according to a statement by designer HGA Architects and Engineers (HGA) of Los Angeles.

“The building is designed to be net-zero energy, and its renewable energy plan was accepted as part of the LEED Platinum certification,” said Patrick Thibaudeau, LEED fellow and vice president of sustainability at HGA, in a statement. “For a high-energy building such as a science laboratory, this is a major accomplishment.”

Some of the building’s key performance metrics, according to HGA, include:
• 55 percent lower energy costs compared to baseline
• 31 percent of energy provided by BIPV (remainder from central campus system)
• 600,000 +/- pounds of CO2 avoided from energy conservation
• 2,000,000 +/- pounds CO2 offset by net-zero energy
• 64 percent less irrigation water use
• Zero potable water used for irrigation
• 54 percent less overall building water use
• 98.4 percent construction waste diversion
• 42 percent recycled content materials (LEED minimum 10%)
• 28 percent local materials (LEED minimum 10%)
• 69 percent Forest Stewardship Council certified wood (LEED minimum 50%)
• $103,000 potential annual energy cost savings.

HGA currently is conducting a 12-month energy verification audit and is planning a post-occupancy evaluation survey to measure occupant satisfaction and usage, according to a statement by the firm.

“College campuses are incubators for research, innovation and new technology that feed into the educational process,” said James Matson, AIA, principal at HGA. “Design-forward projects such as Los Angeles Harbor College Science Complex allow colleges to shape the future of learning by transforming classrooms into laboratories on sustainable design and energy usage. Through our integrated architecture, engineering and planning strategies, HGA partners with clients to research and implement new approaches to sustainable design, net zero energy, and resilient design. The Science Complex is a model for holistic approaches to sustainability, which will continue to inspire our ongoing work nationally.”
 

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The project team includes Watertown, Mass.-based Joslin, Lesser + Associates (an NV5 Company), serving as the owner’s representative, and architect DiNisco Design Partnership of Boston. Locally based W.T. Rich Company served as the project’s construction manager. Angier Elementary School’s educational program and concept design will become a model for planned upgrades to all of the Newton elementary school facilities, according to the Joslin, Lesser + Associates website.

The original Angier Elementary School was, prior to construction of the new facility, the oldest school building in the community. It was originally constructed in 1919 and spanned 40,000 square feet. A more than 10,000-square-foot addition was completed in the mid 1930s. However, it was determined during the current project’s preliminary design program that the existing school footprint was 50 percent smaller than the required program area, according to the DiNisco Design Partnership website. Renovating or expanding the existing structure was deemed impractical, costly and ineffective in meeting modern educational program requirements.

Today, the new Angier Elementary School boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, classrooms equipped with new technology and dedicated areas for breakout instruction and special activities. Where students once had to meet with specialists in converted storage spaces, they now have proper offices and spaces for collaboration and specialized instruction. Color-coded floors assist in wayfinding. The new building is situated around an open plaza that serves as both an outdoor classroom and a gathering space. For security purposes, administrative spaces are located near the entrance (through which visitors must be buzzed in), with kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms on the second level. Upper grades are located on the third level.

Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, the building includes energy-efficient windows and ample insulation as well as motion censor lighting that also adjusts to daylighting conditions. Outside, the school offers plenty of green space and two playgrounds for different age groups.

While time and budget didn’t present any significant barriers to the project, the slim 1.9-acre site did require the team to raise the grade level of a wedge of land to the rear of the property, which sloped steeply down to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority tracks. This aspect of the project also required the construction of a new retaining wall. Additional site, traffic and parking improvements required Angier Elementary School students to be temporarily relocated to Carr School for the duration of the construction project.

The project was funded partially the Massachusetts School Building Authority and partially by a voter-approved tax increase. It was completed within the anticipated budget and timeframe, however owner training and commissioning of the systems is ongoing, according to an update published by the project team. Playground equipment installation will continue through the end of the month and minor work, such as the installation of metal panels, will continue into February.

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Per state regulations, certain school upgrades cannot be funded by the state, causing the board to instead seek local funds. However, the state has already agreed to pay for a replacement school that will cost an estimated $25 million or more. The upgrades to Hall Elementary School, which are not funded by the state, would include a larger cafeteria and gymnasium as well as additional security devices, play structures and an outside learning space.

The Board of Education is also aiming for LEED certification, according to Portland Press Herald. The planned locally funded improvements will enhance education delivery, energy efficiency and security for students and staff as well as reduce costs associated with storm-water management, according to a memorandum from a Portland Board of Public Education meeting in November.

Biddeford, Maine-based architecture, engineering and planning firm Oak Point Associates laid out the recommended upgrades as well as estimated local expenses during the November meeting. One of the first items recommended were classroom security upgrades that would allow designated staff members to initiate lockdown procedures electronically. The security enhancements would be coordinated with district emergency management policies and with first responders, according to the memorandum.

Other potential upgrades include adding a middle school-sized gymnasium that would also be used by the community as well as the elementary school; improvements to the road leading to the school that would include the installation of a new water main; sod installation on the athletic fields to allow the grass to be used for not only athletics but for recess and after school activities; adding additional play structures to create better outdoor learning spaces; and creating operable partitions for general classrooms.

Many of the upgrades are focused on making the new elementary school a place for the community and not just for the students. During the November meeting, a parent on the building committee stressed the importance of building a larger gymnasium for both community and student purposes. State Representative Richard Farnsworth agreed with the Hall Elementary School parent, adding that the school will be used for the next 50 years and it will be a true community center for the surrounding area, according to the Portland Press Herald.
 

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