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Bethke Elementary School
 Architect
RB+B Architects, Inc.
315 E. Mountain Avenue, #100, Fort Collins, CO 80524
www.rbbarchitects.com
General Description
LEED® for Schools Gold Level Achieved GBI Level Achieved: 3 out of 4
Green Globes Energy Star Score 98
Location:
Timnath, Colorado
Date Bid: Feb 2007 Construction Period: Apr 2007 to June
2008
Total Square Feet: 62,691 Site: 13.63 acres.
Number of Buildings: One; 26 classrooms; seating capacity, 525.
Building Size: First floor, 46,430; second floor, 16,261; total,
62,691 square feet.
Building Height: First floor, 9’4”; second floor, 9’4”; floor to
floor, 13’4”; total, 28’.
Basic Construction Type: New.
Foundation: Cast-in-place, slab-on-grade. Exterior Walls:
CMU, curtainwall. Roof: Built-up, metal, membrane. Floors:
Concrete. Interior Walls: CMU, metal stud drywall.
Projected and/or Modeled Energy Usuage KBTU/SF/yr: 32.
LEED® for Schools Gold Level Achieved GBI Level Achieved: 3 out of 4
Green Globes Energy Star Score 98
Construction Team
Structural Engineer: JVA, Inc. - 25 Old Town Square, #200, Fort
Collins, CO 80524
General Contractor: Dohn Construction - 2642 Midpoint Drive, #A,
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Electrical/Mechanical Engineer: Shaffer Baucom Engineering
Consultants - 7333 West Jefferson Avenue, #230, Lakewood, CO 80235
LEED Consultant: Institute for the Built Environmnet Spruce Hall,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
In May of 2000, the Poudre School District (PSD) sponsored a design
competition for a Prototype three round K-6 elementary school. Along
with traditional Education and Technical Specifications, the three
competition finalists were given PSD's "Sustainable Design Guidelines".
These Guidelines were the result of 18 months of a comprehensive
participatory process involving facility personnel, educators, and
administrators. Thus "total District buy-in" was paramount in a
fundamental shift away from conventional design. Due to meticulous and
prudent management of the Bond funds, PSD was able to fund a 4th
elementary school in 2006. The result was Bethke Elementary School,
opening in the Fall of 2008.
The school is designed on an East-West axis. Classrooms face North and
South and employ "cool-daylighting(R)", a natural and artificial
lighting strategy developed by the team's daylighting consultant.
Indirect, evaporative cooling and heat-recovery wheels, along with a
very tight building envelope will drop the building's energy use down to
well below 1/3 that of a typical Colorado school.
An array of building products made from recycled materials are used
throughout the building. Outside, landscape features were strategically
placed along with bio-swales, low water use plantings, and alternative
paving. All of this was accomplished within a very sustainable cost of
$152/sf (building and site).
The solution to the design challenge included many high-performance
design elements:
Daylighting - Natural light enhances student learning and creates
invigorating indoor spaces.
Exterior Insulation - Upgraded insulation levels in exterior walls and
the roof reduce heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter, resulting
in lower utility costs. A closed-cell polyurethane spray insulation was
applied to all exterior walls to provide insulation, as well as act as
the vapor retarder and rain screen.
Reduced Cooling Load - Less electrical lighting reduces the annual
cooling load. Less air conditioning is needed to maintain the comfort
level and energy use is reduced.
Reduced HVAC Equipment - A lower cooling load allows for the
installation of smaller HVAC cooling systems.
Displacement Ventilation - Displacement ventilation supplies air to a
space near the floor level with very low velocity. This configuration
improves air quality, helps to minimize air movement noise levels and
saves energy.
Classrooms filled with natural light have been shown repeatedly to not
only improve student performance but also enhance student and staff
attitudes and reduce absenteeism. Over half the classrooms in this
prototype are able to achieve required light levels without any
artificial lighting for most of the school day (the remainder only
require about 30% supplemental lighting). Bright, inviting, vibrant
spaces are spaces where students want to be.
"This building showcases our commitment to educate current and future
generations about the importance of being responsible stewards of our
environment," said Ann Alfonso, Bethke Elementary School's new
Principal. "We hope other school districts, as well as building owners,
will follow our lead when investigating future construction projects as
we believe green building is just better building."
"The design team was committed to furthering education, both in the
classroom and about the classroom in an engaging facility. From the
bright red fire sprinkler pipe assembly at the front door to windows
allowing views of the mechanical systems, the students no longer simply
pass through the school but they are affected by it," Bill Franzen,
Executive Director for Operations, Poudre School District.
Manufacturers
Entrance & Storefronts, Curtainwall Windows:
Tubelite®
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