Photo by Alan Ernesto Phillips.
Redding School of the Arts has been awarded LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
LEED is an internationally recognized rating system designed to provide owners a path toward “greener” design, building and operations practices.
Although there are currently more than 12,000 LEED-certified projects in 120 countries around the world, Redding School of the Arts is noteworthy for being the first new school campus anywhere to achieve the Platinum rating under the rigorous LEED for Schools 2009 standards.
“Redding School of the Arts’ LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council.
“The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and this school serves as a prime example of just how much we can accomplish.”
Completed in the fall of 2011, Redding School of the Arts is a 77,000 square--foot, K--8 public charter school designed by Trilogy Architecture. It was awarded LEED certification for achievements in energy use, lighting applications, water conservation and collection, and building material components, as well as for incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. The school was funded by the McConnell Foundation and constructed by Gifford Construction.
Lee Salter, President and CEO of The McConnell Foundation, said, “We’re pleased to see Redding School of the Arts and Trilogy Architecture gain this recognition. The Foundation is proud to have funded this project and worked so closely with so many talented and visionary people to achieve our goal of building a sustainable school.”
LEED certification of the school was based on myriad green design and construction features that positively impact both the school itself and the broader community. Some of these features include the use of non--toxic paints; the use of more than 25 percent of building materials with recycled content, and the recycling of almost 85 percent of construction debris. Water-saving devices are expected to save almost 500,000 gallons of water per year. Bicycle and pedestrian walking paths to adjacent neighborhoods, bus service and even electric car recharging stations were all designed to minimize traditional car transportation. With 100 year–old recycled redwood siding, windows into the mechanical spaces and elevator, an exposed steel structure and a building dashboard to show everyone how well the building is actually performing, there is a transparency designed into the school’s inner workings that functions as a story to be absorbed by students, teachers and parents alike.
Trilogy Architecture, the Redding--based firm headed by James Theimer, AIA, previously received several national awards for its design of Redding School of the Arts, including an Honor Award from the National Institute of Building Sciences Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) and an Award for Design Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.
James Theimer, architect and owner of Trilogy Architecture
“The client believes that LEED certification sends a positive message to the students, and to the community, that the environment is an important thing to protect,” said Theimer.
“With that idea in mind, our mission from the very beginning of the project was to design for the highest standard we could. And Platinum certification tells us we got there.”
-from press release
