School Construction News spoke with industry insiders representing Spokane, Wash.-headquartered Lydig Construction about the continued evolution of green construction and design. Lydig’s education work includes the Spokane Community College Science Center, Cascadia Elementary School, Robert Eagle Staff Middle School and Central Washington University’s Dean Hall.

Vince Campanella, vice president of operations for the company’s Eastern region; Bill Dobyns, School Construction News Editorial Advisory Board member and vice president of operations for Lydig’s Bellevue, Wash. office; and Senior Project Manager Matthew Proehl, based in Lydig’s Spokane office, also touched on smart ways to integrate sustainable technology and the roles builders can play in helping schools go green.

Q. How have you seen attitudes toward designing and building school and university facilities for long-term sustainability change in recent years?

Campanella: There is a better recognition by school districts and university owners regarding sustainable construction — and sustainability as an overall approach to how they deal with their facilities. Universities have mostly been on board with sustainability longer than the school districts, at least the districts we deal with here in eastern Washington, but it’s definitely starting to gain a tremendous amount of momentum. In some ways universities were forced to adopt green standards earlier. Washington state law now requires facilities of a certain size and type to be LEED Silver certified or greater. The higher education facilities folks were more or less required to get on board, however the standards didn’t apply to school districts back when they were originally approved by the governor.

Dobyns: I would agree. We’re seeing more value put on long-term sustainability and less resistance. When sustainability originally became a trend, some districts — or even designers — weren’t embracing it because there were some added costs, but that’s no longer an issue. It’s become standard practice. It’s easier now to make a case for the added cost, and it’s acceptable to put sustainability as important criteria on every project.

Proehl: When we first started seeing “green buildings” it was a novelty and wish list item, now its commonplace. While many owners may forego the formal certification process, they are directing the design teams to specify green building materials and design to LEED standards.

Q. How has the trend toward building more sustainable facilities impacted or improved the way you do business?

Campanella: Since we first began to move towards LEED buildings, any added costs have been absorbed. Sticker shock on the part of building facilities owners and school districts has gone away because most everything now is designed and built around some level of sustainability. Depending on the level of sustainability you design and build to, there are things that cost more than the baseline, but we’re seeing less and less of the issues we saw five to ten years ago with LEED and sustainable construction. Now it has become so mainstream that it is built into the way we think and the way projects are delivered.

Dobyns: When the idea of putting sustainable practices into a project was not required, and there was an extra cost, it was a competitive disadvantage if we chose to do it. Now it’s no longer a disadvantage. Because it’s widely accepted, it has helped us stay competitive.

Proehl: The globalization of sustainable design has also made it easier to get green products and opened up new opportunities for recycling and reuse of reclaimed products that would have normally ended up in landfills.

Q. For schools and universities, what barriers still remain when it comes to expanding sustainability efforts?

Dobyns: In the school design side of the industry there is a lot of creativity and new ideas out there. However, the cutting edge ideas sometimes can be costly, and schools are always on tight budgets. Trying to sell that added cost vs. the benefits of sustainability are very new ideas. It sometimes can be politically challenging.

Proehl: In many cases the biggest barriers are the direct cost of the certification process as well as the added on-site personnel that is required to record, log and track the products used and the recycling of waste material.

Read more of this Q&A in the upcoming January/February issue of School Construction News, available soon.
 

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BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers of Patchogue, N.Y. has been selected as the project architect; interior designer; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineer; civil engineer; and site and athletic field designer for the construction program. The firm boasts an already strong foothold in the area, having been awarded $275 million in voter-approved school construction bonds in the last two years. The firm also designed the state’s first LEED certified public school, Hampton Bays Middle School in Hampton Bays, N.Y., which received both LEED Silver and Green Ribbon School designation in 2012.

"The upcoming renovations will result in increased energy efficiency and significant savings for our district," said Dr. Lorna R. Lewis, Plainview-Old Bethpage CSD superintendent of schools, in a statement. "The construction work will bring our schools, the majority of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s, to modern standards that will accommodate current educational programs and provide healthy and attractive learning environments for our students."

“The construction program will include building envelope renovations that aim at improving energy efficiency, classroom and other interior renovations, safety and security upgrades, new technology systems, renovations of outdoor sports facilities, and infrastructure and building systems upgrades,” added BBS Principal Architect Roger Smith, AIA, LEED AP, in a statement. “Energy efficiency improvements will result in annual savings of approximately $239,000 for the school district.”

The need to reduce the district’s energy costs, and desire to upgrade safety and security were the primary factors that led to the development of the improvement program. The district’s buildings currently feature original, outdated single-pane windows, which are highly energy inefficient. Annual savings obtained through specific energy use-related upgrades will include approximately $110,000 from new LED lighting fixtures, $60,000 from new temperature control systems, $59,000 from new double pane, insulated glazing windows and $9,600 from a 50-kW rooftop solar array.

Additionally, all educational buildings will receive comprehensive security upgrades, including interior and exterior cameras, expanded interior and exterior lighting, motion detectors and a variety of lock-down related technology. Safety improvements will also include fire alarm upgrades.

“Work will begin in the summer of 2015, once the school year is over, and is expected to be completed in 2018,” said BBS Senior Associate and Director of Engineering & Technology Frederick Seeba, P.E., LEED AP, in a statement. “The majority of work, such as the replacement of all windows, masonry repairs, and other building envelope improvements, must be completed during warm weather. There will be no interruptions to educational activities as each phase of the construction program will be completed during a summer break.”

Construction will take place at the district’s seven schools located in Long Island communities of Plainview and Old Bethpage. These include John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School, Howard B. Mattlin Middle School, K-Center/Stratford Road Elementary School, Parkway Elementary School, Pasadena Elementary School, and Old Bethpage Elementary School. Two other buildings owned by the district, Jamaica Avenue and Fern Place, will also receive some renovations.

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According to DoDEA, 21st Century Teaching and Learning is a student-centered approach to learning that builds on Responsive and Inclusive Teaching to engage students through technology and the environment. As such, project architect RS&H of Columbus, Ohio designed the building’s renewable energy technologies and sustainable features and systems so that they serve as a hands-on learning tool for all students.

Upon completion, the single-story school complex will house learning hubs with flexible studios, a central commons area with performance stage, and both indoor and outdoor classrooms. A gymnasium, cafeteria, specialist rooms, music and art rooms, a learning impaired room, counseling areas, an information center will round out the student-occupied spaces. Meanwhile a new administrative, supply and storage areas, a state-of-the-art kitchen and teacher workrooms, will improve overall operations. Various related infrastructure such as the construction of new parking areas, a parent loop, bus loop, mechanical rooms, delivery areas and playgrounds.

Kingsolver-Pierce Elementary will also include multiple high-efficiency building systems, renewable energy technologies and sustainable features. According to RS&H, the 115,000-square-foot school will utilize a geothermal heat pump system, solar water heaters, clerestory windows, and solar tubes, as well as photovoltaic powered parking lot lights. These renewable sources coupled with energy efficient systems yield a net-zero energy “achievable” design. Additionally, the school’s design includes classrooms extending into outdoor space, energy dashboards, a green roof and ample daylighting. With all of these sustainable elements, the facility is on track to earn LEED for Schools Silver certification.

In keeping with the surrounding environment, the new $32 million school will feature a brick and limestone façade with site features that complement its context. Exterior projects and site improvements will also include new parking areas, mechanical rooms, delivery areas, and playgrounds.

The joint venture team of S. M. Wilson of St. Louis and AWA Business Corporation of Cincinnati has been selected by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District to build the new 115,000 square foot elementary school, which will be located in the Ft. Knox Historic District. The AWA Wilson JV, a SBE 8(a), HubZone-approved Mentor-Protégé joint venture, will provide general contracting services for the $32 million project.

As the new school will be constructed on the site of the current Kingsolver Elementary, work will also involve minor demolition of the existing structure, which will remain open through the construction process. The original structures will be demolished following the transition into the new school. Construction will begin in June 2014 and is expected to last through November 2015.

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