New Walnut Bend, Thompson Elementary Schools Go Green
Two new HISD schools, Walnut Bend Elementary and Ruby Thompson Elementary, are going to be environmentally friendly. Carpools will drive right up to native plants when these elementary schools open up in the fall.
The schools are designed to meet Leader in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and will seek LEED certification. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.
Rising from the rubble of the site of the old Walnut Bend will be a new $14-million "green campus," set to open on August 13 for teachers and August 27 for students. The school has taken about 15 months to complete. The new Walnut Bend will be on the old Walnut Bend site and is built to house 750 students. Some of the original bricks have been used in the new building.
Walnut Bend Elementary School has been temporarily housed at HISD's Ray K. Daily Elementary while the new school was being built. As a designated LEED school, the campus must meet a minimum of 26 environmentally friendly criteria. The rating system, which was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is a voluntary standard defining high-performance green buildings that are environmentally responsible, healthier, and cost-effective. The two-story facility will feature science and art rooms, a large library and media room, and a multipurpose room with a stage.
"After all that I have learned about being a LEED school, I am proud to be part of a school that will be a showcase for energy and environmental design," said Walnut Bend Principal Sylvia Doyle. "However, I am most proud of the VLK architects who built the school for the children and their success."
Some examples of the LEED criteria that Walnut Bend is incorporating are a storm water management plan to decrease the rate and quantity of storm water runoff and to remove contaminants before the water leaves the site and enters the storm system; native plants and landscaping techniques to eliminate irrigation requirements; low-water-use plumbing fixtures; optimal-energy-performance mechanical and electrical systems; recycled-content building materials; low- and non-contaminating adhesives, paints, and other construction materials; a construction-waste management plan to prevent at least 50 percent of the demolition and construction waste from going into a landfill; increased ventilation to improve indoor air quality; a building recycling program; and daylight and views to the outside from occupied spaces.
Thompson Elementary School is also being designed based on the LEED system. The school is under construction, and the designs are being documented with the USGBC. The project team has attempted 38 credits in design and construction, incorporating various green strategies for building and construction. The level of certification will be based on the number of credits awarded and successful completion of all prerequisites.
For both schools, the actual review by the USGBC and LEED certification will not be completed until after occupancy. Green schools on average save $100,000 per year in energy, maintenance, and operation costs—enough to hire two new teachers, buy 500 new computers, or purchase 5,000 new textbooks, according to the USGBC.
The Thompson campus will be more environmentally friendly because it will have alternative transportation and parking designation for carpool programs, open space with playing fields and vegetation, a storm-water management plan, native plants and zero landscaping techniques to reduce irrigation requirements, low-water-use plumbing fixtures, optimal-energy-performance mechanical and electrical systems, recycled materials and resources in the building, and low- and non-contaminating adhesives, paints, and other construction materials.
"My interest in energy has always been at a very high level, but being at a LEED school has caused me to want to aggressively pursue knowledge to enhance and maintain the thrust that our county has for energy conservation," said Thompson Principal Billie Johnson. "During my tenure, I will commit to Thompson's remaining a LEED school. Students, teachers, and parents will learn to appreciate and understand the true meaning of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Thompson Elementary will learn the skills needed to manage the equipment necessary to have an instant and noticeable effect in our building. We will get more staff members to carpool, we want our environment to be healthy, we want to save water, and we want to maintain a quality indoor environment. I know that learning about LEED will be a delightful and rewarding experience."
