James Theimer, Principal of Trilogy Architecture, receiving award. Photo courtesy of U.S. Green Building Council – Northern California Chapter.
As part of its celebration of World Water Day 2016, on March 22nd the U.S. Green Building Council presented an award to Trilogy Architecture for its leadership in water conservation design for the Redding School of the Arts. This recognition came at the 13th Annual Water Showcase held in San Francisco by the USGBC Northern California Chapter. 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. In 2012, it became the first new school campus in the world to achieve Platinum certification under the LEED for Schools 2009 program, in part due to achievements in water conservation and collection. The school was funded by the McConnell Foundation and constructed by Gifford Construction.
Water strategies employed in the school’s design include rainwater collection and underground water storage, advanced irrigation drip technology, and drought tolerant landscape. Together with water saving plumbing fixtures such as dual flush toilets and sensor operated sinks, it is estimated that the school saves over 500,000 gallons of water per year over what an average U.S. school of this size would normally use. Redding School of the Arts was the highest rated of the six projects recognized for achieving the maximum points available for water conservation through LEED certification.
“As a reference point, 618 building projects were certified last year alone in California, so going back 4 or 5 years and only coming up with six in our region that have had this achievement is great to see. Congratulations for your leadership in water,” said Brenden McEneaney, Director of USGBC Northern California, in introducing the award recipients.
“We’re particularly proud of this award, because our client showed great vision in making water conservation a priority back in 2008 before the current California drought placed water scarcity on everyone’s radar,” remarked Theimer. “Thanks to the McConnell Foundation, we were able to explore every opportunity to demonstrate how schools can make a significant impact on preservation of our precious water supply.”
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.
