3 High Priorities
- Renewable Material Construction
- Natural Indirect Daylighting
- Environmental Impact on Neighborhood
3 Low(er) Priorities
- Sustainability of Building Materials (last a long time and do not soon need replaced or repaired)
- Indoor/Outdoor Spatial Relationships
- Easy Adaptability for Future Use
One thing that I see so often, especially in Ohio, is that old schools that have been in use for nearly 100 years are being torn down and replaced. These buildings are still beautiful but have unfortunately reached the end of their life-span as school buildings due to new requirements for schools. The down side is, that the buildings they are replacing them with are barely made to last 30 years - single ply roof systems, kynar gutters and downspouts, split-face block that will hold onto all graffiti - because of such tight budget constraints. The schools are built to the inch with the "ideal" square footage per student per classroom, but the world doesn't work that way. One year there may be the ideal 25 students per class, the next there could be 33.
I think it is important that buildings are built with renewable materials and with a deisgn that makes it simple to change use of spaces from year to year. Also, sites should not be clear cut or impose on their neighbors, as the energy-efficient effects of one building may counter-act another.
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2 comments:
Carli,
I strongly agree with your desire to use materials that are re-usable. It seems there must be quite a bit of energy saved both in the collection of raw materials and the fabrication of the building component.
Designing spaces that are multi-functional over an even shorter span of day will allow for less need for additonal construction and less use of our resources and less impact on the ecology. If school were used in the evenings for other purposes for example.
The anti-clear cutting of sites, I agree with. I would take us architects to visit a site and spend a day walking looking at the vegitation and planning the building around that. LEED takes notice of that and gives you credit for the least amount of site distrubed.
Pertaining to the 100 year old school comment.Society has changed in such away that these building are not functional any more. ADAAG, Building Codes, flexiblity, Air change requirements, poorly effiecient mechancial systems and window/doors, accessiblity, etc....
I heard once at a LEED for schools seminars an architect lecturing was saying how he was amazed by the fact you have these million dollar facilites, that you plan and design for up to 2 years only to be constructed by the contractor who bids the least and typically knows the least. So, how are they the cheapest, by getting the cheapest materials or cutting corners shortening the life span.
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