As school construction budgets tighten, administrators and boards in the nationâs 13,000 public school districts are constantly on the lookout for hard evidence to justify the perceivedâif not always actualâcost premiums associated with the decision to go green.
Help comes in the form of a study conducted by design firm DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University, âLinking Performance & Experience: An Analysis of Green Schools.âÂ
The research team started with the U.S. Green Building Councilâs definition of a green school: âa school that creates a healthy environment that is conducive to learning while saving energy, resources, and money.âÂ
Measuring energy use, resources, and money is fairly straightforward. Measuring student health and performance is another story. Aggregated test scores, absentee statistics, and graduation rates are all essentially public information, but jumping the legal and administrative hurdles of gathering data on student health and âsoftâ performance factors like âbehaviorâ can be daunting.
 âEverybody wants this hard data research, but weâre dealing with public school systems and there are privacy issues,â not to mention the cost of gathering such data, says Andy Ernsting, a Principal at DLR. Â
Â
CREATING THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In the DLR/IBE study, the researchers surveyed building occupants at 10 sites with a total of 12 green schools, completing interviews with facility managers on all 10 campuses. Fifty-three teachers, staff, and administrators from these schools completed an online questionnaire that asked how they perceived the impacts of sustainable design on student performance.
The results were overwhelmingly positive: 71% of respondents said they saw a positive effect on student achievement, 87% reported a positive impact on student health, 71% perceived a positive effect on student behavior, and 85% said they saw evidence of personal improvements in health and productivity.
Â
The design of Panther Lake Elementary School in Federal Way, Wash., uses daylighting and transparency to connect the building to the surrounding wetlands, forests, and fields. The 45,000-sf replacement school meets Washington Sustainable Schools Program requirements, the first of four such schools for Federal Way School District No. 210. DLR Group provided architecture, engineering, and planning services. The Building Team also included: Swenson Say Faget (SE), OTAK (CE and survey), Karen Kiest Landscape Architects, BRC Acoustics, JLR Design Group (food service consultant), and Babbit Neuman Construction Company (contractor). Photo: courtesy DLR Group
Â
âI believe that a bright and comfortable work environment is healthier and makes people (adults and students alike) want to work more efficiently,â said one respondent.
âSometimes perception is reality, and if people believe theyâre in a higher-quality environment, they just perform better,â says Jim French, DLR Group Senior Principal and K-12 Education Studio National Leader. âI think some subjectivity of higher quality of comfort is not a bad thing.â
Â
HOT TO IDENTIFY STUDENT PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS
Brian Dunbar, the IBEâs Executive Director and Professor Emeritus at Colorado State, says that it may be possible to draw a more direct correlation between the sustainable characteristics of a schoolâs architecture and better student performance. âWeâre coming to the place of saying, OK, the test scores are better here, letâs look at why.â
Dunbar says the definition of a healthy school starts with indoor environmental quality. Healthy air, light quality (both daylight and electrical), thermal comfort, and acoustics are all elements of a healthy school, he says.
âWith some of our recent research, weâve shown that with good air quality and thermal comfort, kids are actually missing fewer days of school,â says DLRâs French. He says statistics of that kind can be powerful with school districts, even those that feel sustainable design comes with higher upfront costs. âIf the research shows that students will stay in their seats because theyâre not sick, thatâs a big selling point,â he says.
Seventy-one percent of respondents saw evidence of an improvement in student behavior, notably less violence, vandalism, and bullying. While there is no hard evidence to prove the case, Dunbar believes environmental factors can have an effect on a studentâs mood, which can impact behavior. âWeâre talking about a calmer place, a cleaner, more organized space,â he says.
Â
HMC Architectsâ ArchLab has developed a program in coordination with Santa MonicaâMalibu Unified School District and McKinley Elementary School to educate elementary school students about their role in sustainable living. The team also trained Santiago High School students on how to teach the lessons to elementary school students, and is publishing a childrenâs book based on the workshops. Photo: courtesy HMC Architects
Â
French notes the importance of student involvement in the development of a green school, particularly for older students. âYouâve got to involve the students in the vision of the school,â he says. âTheyâve got to believe theyâre part of it.âÂ
âThe students are proud of their building, which has all but eliminated any school vandalism,â said one survey respondent. âThere is a level of pride in being a student at Pioneer [a middle school in the study] and the studentsâ behavior is a reflection of that pride in their building.â
Students should also take part in the day-to-day operations of the school, from monitoring energy use via interactive screens, to food and waste recycling. âWe call this âbuilding as curriculum,ââ says Ernsting. âMake the operation of the building part of the student experience.â
French believes administrators are becoming more open to the idea of green schools. âAs districts become more sophisticated, green schools are going to be mandatory,â he says. âSchool districts arenât getting any more money from the public, so itâs critical that green building costs not go up. We have a responsibility as architects, engineers, and contractors to figure out how to get these buildings done as inexpensively as we can.â
Â
Wight & Company has proposed an âedible forestâ on the campus of Joliet (Ill.) Central High School as part of a kitchen, cafeteria, and galleria addition currently under way. The proposed garden would use a form of permaculture based on a woodland ecosystem. If implemented, the sustainable ecosystem will include nitrogen fixers, insect repellents, and trees, shrubs, and ground covers to teach students about sustainable food production. Photo: Wight & Company
Related Stories
| Jan 8, 2015
Microsoft shutters classic clipart gallery: Reaction from a graphic designer
Microsoft shut down its tried-and-true clipart gallery, ridding the world not only of a trope of graphic design, but a nostalgic piece of digital design history, writes HDR's Dylan Coonrad.
| Jan 8, 2015
The future of alternative work spaces: open-access markets, co-working, and in-between spaces
During the past five years, people have begun to actively seek out third places not just to get a dayâs work done, but to develop businesses of a new kind and establish themselves as part of a real-time conversation of diverse entrepreneurs, writes Gensler's Shawn Gehle.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2015
NIBS report: Small commercial buildings offer huge energy efficiency retrofit opportunities
The report identifies several barriers to investment in such retrofits, such as the costs and complexity associated with relatively small loan sizes, and issues many small-building owners have in understanding and trusting predicted retrofit outcomes.
| Jan 7, 2015
University of Chicago releases proposed sites for Obama library bid
There are two proposed sites for the plan, both owned by the Chicago Park District in Chicagoâs South Side, near the universityâs campus in Hyde Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
| Jan 7, 2015
4 audacious projects that could transform Houston
Converting the Astrodome to an urban farm and public park is one of the proposals on the table in Houston, according to news site Houston CultureMap.
| Jan 7, 2015
How you can help improve the way building information is shared
PDFs are the de facto format for digital construction documentation. Yet, there is no set standard for how to produce PDFs for a project, writes Skanska's Kyle Hughes.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2015
Best practices for urban infill development: Embrace the region's character, master the pedestrian experience
If an urban building isnât grounded in the local regionâs character, it will end up feeling generic and out-of-place. To do urban infill the right way, itâs essential to slow down and pay proper attention to the context of an urban environment, writes GS&P's Joe Bucher.
| Jan 6, 2015
Construction permits exceeded $2 billion in Minneapolis in 2014
Two major projectsâa new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings NFL team and the cityâs Downtown East redevelopmentâaccounted for about half of the total worth of the permits issued.Â
| Jan 6, 2015
Snøhetta unveils design proposal of the Barack Obama Presidential Center Library for the University of Hawaii
The plan by Snøhetta and WCIT Architecture features a building that appears square from the outside, but opens at one corner into a rounded courtyard with a pool, Dezeen reports.
| Jan 5, 2015
Another billionaire sports club owner plans to build a football stadium in Los Angeles
Kroenke Group is the latest in a series of high-profile investors that want to bring back pro football to the City of Lights.