Building Design+Construction has partnered with building product manufacturers and the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED) to create a modular classroom/lab/community center, on display at the GreenZone exhibit during Greenbuild 2014 in New Orleans, October 21-23.
At the conclusion of Greenbuild, the Environment Education Classroom will revert to the possession of the CSED and move to its permanent Lower 9th Ward home in a residential block south of the Bayou Bienvenue Wetlands Triangle viewing platform. It will serve as a community center and K-12 classroom for educating students on water quality, water conservation, storm water management, and resiliency.
Designed by New Orleans firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple (EDR), recipient of the 2014 AIA Architecture Firm Award, and TLC Engineering for Architecture, and built by local design-builder Broadmoor LLC, the structure targets net-zero energy use. Sustainable design elements include a pitched butterfly roof to collect and transport rainwater to polypropylene tanks underneath the building.
How you can contribute
After being on display at the Morial Convention Center at Greenbuild October 21-23, the Environment Education Classroom will revert to the possession of the CSED. The 560-sf modular structure will be moved to its permanent home in a residential block just south of the Bayou Bienvenue Wetlands Triangle viewing platform.
Moving the structure from the convention center and setting it up at the CSED site will require about $30,000 in site work to lay the foundation, connect the utilities, and construct ADA-compliant decks and entryways, according to USGBC Louisiana Executive Director Shannon Stage.
USGBC Louisiana, a 501(c)(3) charitable entity, is seeking tax-deductible donations from Greenbuild attendees, AEC firms, and others interested in the CSED Environment Education Classroom to help offset those costs. Credit-card donations may be made via the USGBC Louisiana website, usgbclouisiana.org.
Any excess funds that are collected will be used for educational materials and ongoing operations of the facility, says Stage.
The water will be reused to irrigate wetland beds. The building is 100% daylit per LEED v4 requirements, enhanced by a triangular piece of glass around the entire façade that allows further daylight penetration into the structure.
The GreenZone sponsors include: Access Lighting, Accoya, ASSA ABLOY, Bayer MaterialScience, Carlisle Syntec Systems, CENTRIA, LG, Mecho Systems, and Modular Building Institute.
About the Structure
The Environment Education Classroom will serve a variety of functions in the Lower 9th Ward community. It will be an education center, meeting space, and laboratory all in one and within a footprint of 15 feet by 40 feet.
The main space is designed to be as open and flexible as possible, complete with movable furniture to be reconfigured as needed. Since the number of people sharing the building at any one time can change, EDR went with a demand-controlled ventilation mechanical system, which will respond to the number of occupants in the room at any given time. The architects wanted the building to be 100% daylit, per LEED v4, and so engaged extensive daylight simulations for testing.
Taking that indoor-outdoor connection a step further, a portion of the north facade will feature a folding wall system that can be opened and closed as desired.
From the exterior, the pitched butterfly roof is one of the visual highlights. But it's not just beauty for beauty's sake—the roof will be able to collect rainwater and carry it down to the polypropylene tanks underneath the building; The rainwater will be reused to irrigate the wetland beds CSED plans to install around the building.
For more information on the Environment Education Classroom, visit www.BDCnetwork.com/greenzone2014.
Schematic by New Orleans design firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple reveals some of the sustainbility features of the modular classroom/lab/community center. The facilty’s focus on water/stormwater education is made apparent to visitors and the community via the rainwater retention system on the roof, the cistern and pump, the vegetated rainscreen, and wetlands learning gardens. Design/build firm Broadmoor LLC is in charge of construction. All illustrations: Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
Eskew+Dumez+Ripple conducted extensive daylight and energy analyses to make the modular facility as energy efficient as possible under LEED v4.
1. Entry 2. Exhibit display 3. Classroom 4. Computer Station 5. Kitchen. Section of Environment Education Classroom reveals multiple use options in a compact space. Designer Eskew+Dumez+Ripple was named AIA Architecture Firm for 2014.
1. Entry 2. Exhibit display 3. Classroom 4. Computer Station 5. Kitchen 6. Closet 7. Toilet Room 8. Deck. Floor plan of the 560-sf Environment Education Center. Designers from Eskew+Dumez+Ripple worked pro bono with design/build experts from Broadmoor LLC to gain efficient use of the tight space. The facility will be used as a water/stormwater classroom for K-12 students, as a community center, and as a water-research lab.
Schematic by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple shows some of the sustainable strategies being employed in the module. Design-build firm Broadmoor LLC has used the project as an education opportunity for a dozen of its workers.
Renderings by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple provide advanced views of the Environment Education Classroom, at this writing under construction at Broadmoor LLC. Materials and systems for the project were donated by Access Lighting, Accoya, ASSA ABLOY, Bayer MaterialScience, Carlisle SynTec, CENTRIA, LG, and MechoSystems; the Modular Building Institute provided technical guidance. The facility will be sited about 100 yards from Bayou Bienvenue in the 9th Ward.
Related Stories
| Mar 11, 2011
Oregon childhood center designed at child-friendly scale
Design of the Early Childhood Center at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore., focused on a achieving a child-friendly scale and providing outdoor learning environments.
| Feb 23, 2011
“School of Tomorrow” student design competition winners selected
The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Kawneer Company, Inc. announced the winners of the “Schools of Tomorrow” student design competition. The Kawneer-sponsored competition, now in its fifth year, challenged students to learn about building materials, specifically architectural aluminum building products and systems in the design of a modern and creative school for students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. Ball State University’s Susan Butts was awarded first place and $2,500 for “Propel Elementary School.”
| Feb 15, 2011
LAUSD commissions innovative prefab prototypes for future building
The LA Unified School District, under the leadership of a new facilities director, reversed course regarding prototypes for its new schools and engaged architects to create compelling kit-of-parts schemes that are largely prefabricated.
| Feb 11, 2011
Four-story library at Salem State will hold half a million—get this—books!
Salem State University in Massachusetts broke ground on a new library and learning center in December. The new four-story library will include instructional labs, group study rooms, and a testing center. The modern, 124,000-sf design by Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch includes space for 500,000 books and study space for up to a thousand students. Sustainable features include geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
| Feb 9, 2011
Gen7 eco-friendly modular classrooms are first to be CHPS verified
The first-ever Gen7 green classrooms, installed at Bolsa Knolls Middle School in Salinas, California, have become the nation's first modular classrooms to receive Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Verified recognition for New School Construction. They are only the second school in California to successfully complete the CHPS Verified review process.
| Jan 21, 2011
Primate research facility at Duke improves life for lemurs
Dozens of lemurs have new homes in two new facilities at the Duke Lemur Center in Raleigh, N.C. The Releasable Building connects to a 69-acre fenced forest for free-ranging lemurs, while the Semi-Releasable Building is for lemurs with limited-range privileges.
| Jan 21, 2011
Virginia community college completes LEED Silver science building
The new 60,000-sf science building at John Tyler Community College in Midlothian, Va., just earned LEED Silver, the first facility in the Commonwealth’s community college system to earn this recognition. The facility, designed by Burt Hill with Gilbane Building Co. as construction manager, houses an entire floor of laboratory classrooms, plus a new library, student lounge, and bookstore.
| Jan 20, 2011
Community college to prepare next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Jan 19, 2011
Biomedical research center in Texas to foster scientific collaboration
The new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center at the University of Houston will facilitate interaction between scientists in a 167,000-sf, six-story research facility. The center will bring together researchers from many of the school’s departments to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. The facility also will feature an ambulatory surgery center for the College of Optometry, the first of its kind for an optometry school. Boston-based firms Shepley Bulfinch and Bailey Architects designed the project.
