The first Net Zero Emissions school, and the largest NZE building of any type, in Massachusetts is under construction in East Cambridge.
In collaboration with William Rawn Associates, Boston-based architectural firm Arrowstreet has designed this 270,000-sf building, which will house King Open School for grades K-5 and Cambridge Street Upper School for grades 6-8. The schools will have separate entrances as well as their own academic, physical education, and administrative facilities, but will share common spaces that will include the media center, cafeteria, and auditorium.
The complex will have a branch of the public library, a Gold Star swimming pool, a subterranean parking garage, and the district offices for the city’s public schools department.
Arrowstreet has been working with Cambridge to develop the building as a pilot project under the city’s recently enacted New Zero Cambridge plan. (This is the second, and largest, of four schools planned under that program over the next two decades.)
The building will include a host of energy-saving elements (see above), including a geothermal system with 190 wells (see below). Images: Arrowstreet
To that end, 3,550 solar panels will generate between 60% and 75% of the building’s energy. A geothermal system with 190 wells dug 500 feet underground will provide heat and cooling during summer and winter months, and be supplemented by a separate ventilation system. All of the building’s lights are LEDs.
The building will be all-electric, and therefore combustion-free. Each school, as well as the library and cafeteria, will be equipped with a dashboard that measure electricity consumption, says Larry Spang, a Principal with Arrowstreet. He adds that the dashboards will contribute to the schools’ “problem-solving curriculum,” and help teach students about environmental sustainability.
The software for the dashboards is in development, says Spang.
The school will be the largest NZE building in Massachusetts, and will include dashboards that measure the electricity used and generated by the building, and double as educational tools. Image: Arrowstreet.
Arrowstreet got the contract for this project in 2014, and presented its feasibility study the following year. A team led by Arrowstreet’s Director of Sustainability and Building Performance Kate Bubriski spent a year talking to more than 30 community groups about their needs and expectations. The team also spent time with the school district’s facilities department to assess the comfort levels required for building’s different rooms.
“The old school was pretty traditional and isolated from the community,” says Bubriski. She adds that the school itself had very few areas for group learning or teacher interaction.
The new building doubles the programming and room space. And the building will stay open nights and weekends to provide more access for the community for such things as English as a second language courses, and gym time for sports leagues.
The schools are designed with “team rooms” within clusters of classrooms, says Spang.
The complex will include a branch of the city's public library, a swimming pool, and administrative offices for the school district. Image: Arrowstreet.
As of last week the building’s foundation was in place and one-third of the west side is completed. It is scheduled to open by the summer of 2019; until then, its students are in temporary classrooms in other locations of the city.
Along with Arrowstreet and William Rawn Associates, the Building Team on this project includes Copley Wolff Design Group (landscape architect), Nitsch Engineering (CE), LeMessurier Consultants (SE), Garcia Galuska Desousa (MEP/FP/Security/Telecom), Aquatic Design Group (pool consultant), and Acentech (AV consultant).
Related Stories
| Jan 9, 2014
Special report: Can design prevent another Sandy Hook?
Our experts say no, but it could save lives. In this report, they offer recommendations on security design you can bring to your K-12 clients to prevent, or at least mitigate, a Sandy Hook on their turf.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2014
9 mega redevelopments poised to transform the urban landscape
Slowed by the recession—and often by protracted negotiations—some big redevelopment plans are now moving ahead. Here’s a sampling of nine major mixed-use projects throughout the country.
| Jan 6, 2014
What is value engineering?
If you had to define value engineering in a single word, you might boil it down to "efficiency." That would be one word, but it wouldn’t be accurate.
| Dec 17, 2013
Nation's largest net-zero K-12 school among winners of 2013 Best of Green Schools award
The Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, was named a winner of USGBC's annual award, along with nine other schools, individuals and communities working toward the common goal of healthy, high-performing learning places.
| Dec 17, 2013
IBM's five tech-driven innovation predictions for the next five years [infographics]
Smart classrooms, DNA-based medical care, and wired cities are among the technology-related innovations identified by IBM researchers for the company's 5 in 5 report.
| Dec 16, 2013
Irving, Texas building state’s second net-zero school
Lee Elementary School, scheduled to open in fall 2014, will be net-zero-ready, and if the school board decides to sell district bonds and allow the purchase of additional solar panels, will be a true net-zero facility.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Dec 5, 2013
Exclusive BD+C survey shows reaction to Sandy Hook tragedy
More than 60% of AEC professionals surveyed by BD+C said their firms experienced heightened interest in security measures from school districts they worked with.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
