Georgia’s First LEED-Silver School Teaches Green, Too
Image courtesy of Perkins + Will.
Summary: A key to instilling the next generation of architects and architectural clients with a knowledge and respect for sustainable building practices is educating them on how humankind’s actions affect the natural world. Not only will the students of Perkins+Will’s Arabia Mountain High School in Lithonia, Ga., get their education in a highly sustainable building, they’ll also be learning in a school that’s designed to maximize interaction with the surrounding natural environment.
The school is located in the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, and, when it opens in August, it will be the first LEED-certified school in the state. This adjacent nature preserve will be an ideal setting for Environment as an Integrated Context (EIC) learning. This teaching method uses the outdoors and natural surroundings as an interpretive text. EIC programs employ the environment as a comprehensive focus and framework for learning in all areas, not just environment-specific content. These can include general and disciplinary knowledge, problem-solving skills, and communication skills. Architecturally, this connection to the outdoors is expressed with large expanses of glass that allow for views out to the nature preserve and let light penetrate deep into the interiors, negating the need for much artificial lighting. Outdoor classrooms were also created to establish the sustainable curriculum further.
Programmatically, the school is organized around three individual learning communities that contain classroom spaces that are relatively self-contained. In each, students will have the same teachers, guidance counselor, and assistant principal for all four years. These smaller clusters plug into a shared spine that contains science and career technology labs and connects to the school’s gym, event venues, and other common spaces. This school-within-a-school concept aims to give all students access to the resources and benefits of a large school while still offering them an intimate learning environment where staff can carefully monitor and guide their progress.
The LEED Silver-rated school’s sustainability features include:
- Bio-swales with natural plantings to filter water runoff, particularly from parking lots
- Water use reduction with low-flow plumbing fixtures, waterless urinals, and sink sensors
- Native plantings that will reduce need for site irrigation
- 30 percent more ventilation than code requires
- Individual controls for all lighting and HVAC so energy won’t be wasted on unoccupied areas.
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