by Tracy Ostroff

The high-performance prototype design for Hassan Elementary School, Rogers, Minn., is the latest addition to the Elk River School District’s growing portfolio of sustainable facilities. The hallmark of these buildings, KKE Architects Inc. say, is the way they “incorporate sustainable goals with the traditional, academic aesthetics.” Designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) certification criteria, the $18-million building would use 50 percent less energy than a Minnesota code-based building, according to an independent energy consultant.

The 99,400-square-foot-facility opened in August 2005. The building, which sits on 24 acres, provides 133 square feet per student, accommodating up to 750 students. “The City of Rogers was seeking a more traditional-looking school building,” says Lee Meyer, AIA, KKE principal. The K–5 elementary school’s main entry is an open court embraced by classroom wings and lighted by the morning sun. Students arriving by bus enter into the central commons through the exterior plaza, which serves as a gathering area before and after school. As students and visitors arrive, they are welcomed by the adjacent administration area, which is positioned for an easily supervised, secure environment. Classrooms grouped along east-west corridors offer optimal daylight from both north and south. Bell towers and sloped roofs complete the campus feel.

The media center, visible from both the student entry and commons, forms the academic heart of the school. Its central location on the second floor is accessible to all grade levels via a grand staircase and elevator. Art, science, and music classrooms are clustered for easy school and community use. Physical education and multipurpose rooms situated at the south end of the corridor provide convenient community access.

Sustainable meets traditional
Meyer explains that the sustainable nature of the school had its beginnings six years ago when the school district received a state grant to study sustainability and energy efficiency in schools. The architects, already working with the district on other projects, joined school officials on trips to Germany and Switzerland to study best practices. What they discovered, Meyer says, is that they seemed to be designing buildings that included LEED™ requirements, including large percentage of window-to-floor area, shallow rooms so natural light could infuse far into the space, and north to south orientations.

For Hassan, the architects employed an efficient two-story design to reduce the schools’ footprint. KKE also chose a traditional peaked roof to suit the Rogers neighborhood and evoke a more home-like feel. Other high-performance systems include dimming T5 lights, desiccant energy recovery, high-efficiency boilers, and variable-air-volume systems.

In addition to savings from the energy-efficient technologies, the school district is seeing more green with rebates from Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy, the local utility companies. The Elk River Star News reports that rebates for Hassan Elementary totaled about $127,000. “It emphasizes we’re doing what I think people want us to do,” Ron Bratlie, the district’s director of special projects told the paper. KKE’s other two schools, Westwood Elementary and Rogers High School, also took advantage of the rebate program. Julia Gauthier, a product portfolio manager, explained in the article that Xcel had distributed rebates in the state ranging from $12,000 to $204,000. “We pay a rebate based on how much better (schools) do than minimum code requirements,” Gauthier says in the January 17 article.

Copyright 2006 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page