New Design Concepts for Elementary and Secondary Schools

CAPTION: A new LPA-designed expansion at Brea Olinda High School in Brea, Calif., performs 30% better than California's Title 24 building standards.

Summary

Hard hit by the economy, new construction in the K-12 sector has slowed considerably over the past year. Yet innovation has continued, along with renovations and expansions. Today, Building Teams are showing a keener focus on sustainable design, as well as ways to improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ), daylighting, and low-maintenance finishes such as flooring. Furthermore, many professionals are hopeful for an economic recovery in 2011 that would encourage future school construction.

What you will learn

After reading this article, you should be able to:

  • Describe how economic challenges are affecting school facilities and their ability to meet energy and environmental demands.
  • Explain how energy-efficient approaches such as daylighting and heat recovery contribute positively to school design.
  • List interior materials and systems, including lighting, that can benefit a K-12 school’s effectiveness.
  • Describe safety-related technologies that are affecting school facility design and operations.

Read the full article and take the course.

         
 

Comments on: "New Design Concepts for Elementary and Secondary Schools"

The colorful ribboned flooring at Toronto’s Corus Quay mimics the iconic corkscr
The colorful ribboned flooring at Toronto’s Corus Quay mimics the iconic corkscr
Discussions of commercial flooring tend to focus on the floor covering or finish material. This is hardly surprising, since the covering is the part of the floor that stakeholders see, interact with, and care about most. The...
The use of light load-bearing glass to create transparent stairs, floors, and ot
The use of light load-bearing glass to create transparent stairs, floors, and ot
Glass has taken on new life in recent building years. Long valued for its transparency and lightness, glass is now also being considered for its structural and protective capabilities. Beyond the technique known as...
Building owners must plan ahead for roof replacement to avoid emergency leak rem
Building owners must plan ahead for roof replacement to avoid emergency leak rem
No building owner wants to be caught unprepared by catastrophic roof failure. Emergency roof replacements tend to be more expensive than planned ones, and damage to interiors may mean unrecovered costs and detrimental...
AIA: New Developments in Concrete Construction
AIA: New Developments in Concrete Construction
Concrete has long been a reliable building material for commercial and institutional projects. Yet recent trends, including the growth in hospitality and urban rental project starts, as well as mixed-use towers and transit-...
AIA Rainscreens BD+C DEcember 2011
AIA Rainscreens BD+C DEcember 2011
Until recently, it has been lighting, mechanical, and control system upgrades which have received the most attention in the green building movement. At long last, the industry is now recognizing building enclosures as a long...
Brick and stone masonry have served as reliable and valuable elements of commercial building projects for centuries, gracing urban and rural landscapes since time immemorial. Building Teams have trusted clay brick to bring...
Making the Most of the Reconstruction Boom Reconstruction in its many forms—tenant improvements, retail fitouts, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, gut rehab, and so on—is keeping many design and construction firms...
The topic of water shortages is nothing new, as cities around the globe struggle with drought, water quality, supply constraints, and failing infrastructures. However, the idea of new plumbing codes and design standards...
Guard booths, stations and shelters are defense strategy linchpins, becoming increasingly integral to perimeter defense planning. Before evaluating the efficacy of different guard booth configurations, and before selecting a...
From the company that brought you Construction Computing Magazine’s 2011 BIM Product of the Year ArchiCAD 15, the “Get There Faster with ArchiCAD” whitepaper examines five critical areas to explore before making your final...
Download Complete White Paper Download Introduction Download Chapters 1-4Defining Net-Zero Energy Buildings
Our seventh White Paper on Green Buildings focuses on the role of water in sustainable design and construction. The editors conclude with a set of 21 detailed recommendations for the consideration of the Building Teams, home...