Respect for the environment is one of Friends Community School’s (FCS) core values. So when it outgrew its facilities, the school community sought to create a setting in which students could learn about sustainability first-hand. Featuring straw-bale construction, a living roof and a rain garden, the 26,885-square-foot FCS building in Greenbelt, Md., is slated to open spring 2007 and achieve LEED Silver certification.

straw’s strengths

Building with straw appealed to school head Tom Goss because it is a renewable resource, bales are locally produced, and community members could assist in construction. Straw bales’ proven performance convinced architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht (HCM) that the material was right for the project.

"We were highly impressed by the research. Straw bales meet or exceed rigorous industry standards,” said HCM’s Paul Dibos, LEED AP.

Tests indicate that straw-bale buildings withstand significant loads and are highly resistant to fire and combustion. The bales provide excellent insulation and, when encased in lime plaster, are at least as impervious to wind and wet conditions as traditional materials. Contrary to common perception, straw offers no nutrition and doesn’t attract pests.

demystifying buildings

Once the school is complete, it won’t be easy to tell it’s made of straw, so a “truth window” in the lobby will display a cross-section of a wall. Revealing the construction and inner-workings of the building is important to the school community.

“We’re highlighting things that are normally hidden. Children have an innate curiosity, and we want them to understand how buildings work,” said Goss.

Glass doors to the mechanical room, located near the school’s entrance, will show energy-efficient boilers, water pipes and valves. Many structural elements, including columns and trusses, will be visible, and students gazing up at the 15-foot classroom ceilings will see acoustic decking and Internet antennas.

heat and light

Students will also experience the phenomenon of thermal mass. In cold-weather months, the building’s exposed concrete floor will absorb the heat of direct sunlight and remain warm throughout the day. When needed, hot water pipes in the concrete slab will assist with radiant heating.

In warm-weather months, floors will retain the coolness of nighttime temperatures, and solar shading will prevent direct sunlight from reaching the concrete.

Rooms on the perimeter of the building will have plenty of reflected illumination from six-foot windows and clerestories with light shelves. Solar tubes will bring daylight into interior spaces.

stormwater management

To prevent the building from becoming a heat island, about half of the roof will use an albedo roofing system, and the other half will be vegetated. Hardy sedums planted above the classrooms, all located on the building’s south side, will help insulate the structure and manage stormwater.

Some of the excess runoff will be directed by a rain chain or downspout to a garden. There, rocks will reduce erosion by slowing the flow of water, and plants will filter out pollutants. Not surprisingly, the school plans to prominently place the rain garden in front of the school.

“The goal is to inspire students and their families. Seeing something like this, more than just hearing or reading about it, makes them realize it’s something they can create at home,” said Dibos.

SIDEBAR:FRIENDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Constructed of straw bale, the Friends Community School in Greenbelt, Md., will also feature a living roof and a rain garden when completed in early 2007. Courtesy of Hord Coplan Macht.

location: greenbelt, md.
scheduled to open: spring 2007
size: 26,885 square feet
architect: hord coplan macht — peter doo (architect), paul dibos (project manager)
general contractor: harbor view contractors inc
straw-bale walls and green roof: furbish company
radiant heating system, installation: e.d. mechanical, inc.



exterior products

trellis: fabricated by division five steel corp.
storefront systems: us aluminum it4451
windows: peerless 4120 single-hung, 4160 fixed, 1841 fixed and 1811 project-in
roofing: firestone platinum ultraply tpo roofing system
skylights: solatube


interior products

open web trusses: trus joist
roof decking: 3 inch tectum 1 ls by tectum inc.
lighting: lightolier baselyte system (classrooms), wide-lite comfort bay/cf series (gym)
radiant heating system: syracuse thermal products
operable partition: modernfold 931 system
plumbing fixtures: zurn
rubber wall base: johnsonite
carpet tile: entropy by interface
soy-base concrete stain and sealer: eco procote

WEB TOC: online only at www.edcmag.com

THIS MONTH’S K-12 WEB EXCLUSIVE FEATURES INCLUDE:

• PLANNING USING SMART GROWTH PRINCIPLES BY BRIAN MAYTUM, AIA, AND ANDREW MCPHERSON, AIA, LEED AP, NACHT & LEWIS ARCHITECTS
  NACHT & LEWIS ARCHITECTS’ INDERKUM HIGH SCHOOL, THE SECOND FOR NATOMAS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (NUSD) IN SACRAMENTO, INCORPORATES THE PRINCIPLES OF SMART GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE TRENDS IN CURRENT EDUCATIONAL DESIGN.
• MAKING AN IMPACT, MAKING A DIFFERENCE C&A
  CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN MARYLAND, KLEIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT IN TEXAS AND SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT IN CALIFORNIA MADE THE ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION TO RECYCLE THEIR FLOORCOVERING BACK INTO FLOORCOVERING, MAKING IT A CLOSED LOOP PROCESS WITH THE HELP OF C&A.
• ROCKY MOUNTAIN DESIGN: FUSING FUNCTION AND SUSTAINABILITY BY MARIA MOBLEY
  NESTLED IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES, THE SILVERTHORNE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL — A STATE-OF-THE-ART SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL DESIGNED TO SUPPORT AND REFLECT THE FEEL OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY — TAKES ADVANTAGE OF EXCEPTIONAL MOUNTAIN VIEWS WHILE MAINTAINING A COMPACT, ENERGY-EFFICIENT VOLUME.
• OTTOVILLE SCHOOLS’ GEOEXCHANGE HVAC SYSTEM SETS A NEW STANDARD FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY MCQUAY
  NICKNAMED “THE BIG GREEN” YEARS AGO FOR THE COLOR OF THEIR UNIFORMS, OTTOVILLE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, OHIO, CAN BOAST OF ANOTHER BIG, GREEN ACHIEVEMENT: AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT HVAC GEOEXCHANGE SYSTEM, WHICH RELIES ON THE EARTH’S STABLE TEMPERATURE FOR ITS ENERGY-EFFICIENCY.
• RUBBER FLOORING EARNS HIGH MARKS IN PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN AT BOONE COUNTY SCHOOLS NORA
  MICHAEL HIBBETT, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF OPERATIONS FOR BOONE COUNTY SCHOOLS, SOUGHT A FLOOR COVERING THAT COULD SUSTAIN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND STILL LOOK ATTRACTIVE. THE RUBBER FLOORING THAT WAS INSTALLED MEETS THOSE REQUIREMENTS.