Environmental Education
By Senior Editor, Mark Robins,
Posted
07/31/2012
Agriscience school uses and teaches smart
energy
A Lexington, Ky., high school that opened its doors in 2011 has
a green sensibility and an even greener net zero campus design. Set
on an 82-acre farm, the $18 million Locust Trace Agriscience Farm
is designed to meet Energy Star and LEED Gold standards and net
zero requirements.
It has a classroom building, horse barn and arena, veterinary
clinic, aquaculture lab, greenhouse, orchards, vineyards, gardens
and wildlife habitat. Students can delve into equine, plant, land
and environmental science, biotechnology, agricultural power
mechanics, and small and large animal science. The school also
offers English, math and science classes with an agricultural
focus.
But its most important and unique attributes are the energy and
environmental factors built into its design. It even has
touchscreens that are used as a teaching tool to show students what
energy is being used and generated. Eventually the screens will be
able to show energy usage in each classroom, with the information
being accessible online.
Let the sun in
Utilizing the sun helps the school keep green. The school has
the country's third-largest solar-thermal array to help heat
buildings and a photovoltaic system to generate the farm's own
electricity from sunlight. "The photovoltaic panels [from SunPower
in San Jose, Calif.,] capture the sun's energy for conversion to
generate electrical power," says Susan Stokes Hill, AIA, LEED AP,
architect and principal at Tate Hill Jacobs Architects in
Lexington. "This process provides for site-generated renewable
energy, making a major contribution to the facility's goal of
reaching net zero energy. The metal standing seam roof [from Fabral
in Lancaster, Pa.,] allowed the team to utilize [Colorado Springs,
Colo.-based] S-5! clamps for an easy and durable installation. It
was very important that we had the right integration between the
photovoltaic and metal roof. If we had a low-seam or no-seam metal
roof, then we would have to create a whole new fastening
system and penetrating the metal roof is something we didn't want
to do for moisture and energy reasons."
In addition to being an integral support feature for the
photovoltaic panels, the standing seam metal roof provides
long-term performance with minimal maintenance, offers
high-reflectivity and provides recyclable opportunities. These
attributes are critical to the success of reaching sustainability
and net zero energy.
Sunlight and prevailing winds were analyzed to orient the
classroom building. Aluminum sun louvers from Industrial Louvers in
Delano, Minn., capture natural daylighting at appropriate
orientations. On the west-facing building elevations they shade the
high-angle summer sun and prevent heat infiltration into the
building. This reduces the amount of energy required to cool the
space. "They are stationary and fixed, based on the regional
location of the facility," Hill says. "They function efficiently,
keeping the direct sunrays out during the warmer summer months
while keeping the direct hot sunlight from getting into the space
or striking the glass while allowing indirect daylight into the
building spaces, which are all goals. This winter the louvers
definitely did allow that nice warm light into the building to
supplement the artificial heat and lighting that was provided."
Schooling in metal
According to Hill, metal siding panels from Fabral at the front
entry that provide a focus to the primary public entry are
architecturally compatible with the adjacent masonry [brick and
stone] elements. The vegetated roof canopy and the architectural
metal panels create clear visual definition for this entry
area.
"The metal wall panels were less expensive than doing a full
cavity wall or brick veneer masonry wall, so cost did have some
implication," she says, "but it was primarily establishing a strong
sense of entry at the main public entrance; it was a design
feature."
The aluminum storefront from Norcross, Ga.-based Kawneer Co.
Inc. at the three major entry areas provides natural daylighting
during school hours, which reduces artificial lighting and energy
use. It provides views out to the farm site to see curriculum
components like fields, gardens, livestock, and a clear view of
approaching faculty, students and visitors.
"Aluminum was chosen for the storefront because of its longevity
and ease of maintenance," Hill says. "It provides minimal
maintenance and has a durable life. The only other option that we
were looking at all was a hollow metal frame. Since this is an
all-new school there really weren't any materials that we were
recycling in the project. With aluminum storefronts, I know many
manufacturers will utilize a percentage of pre- or post- consumer
materials and that was important to us as we looked at the type of
materials we had. Making certain they weren't all new
first-generation materials, which is true with the storefront,
windows and roof systems."
Large metal, overhead, high-performance fans from
Lexington-based Big Ass Fans reduce energy use, facilitate natural
ventilation and air movement, and reduce air-conditioning
requirements. "The metal fans need some adjustment from the staff
because any kind of natural ventilation means the owner has to be
more 'hands-on' in thinking about how they use it and when they use
it," Hill says. "Some of the natural ventilation is on sensors, so
when it gets to be a certain heat level in the space, it triggers
an automatic opening of the vents allowing ventilation flow. But
much of it is about owner comfort and that is a much more hands-on
activity."
Permeable pavement, rain gardens and the vegetated roof manage
water runoff. Metal elements like standing seam roof panels,
gutters and downspouts from Fabral also play a role in rainwater
collection and harvesting. Rainwater is stored in underground tanks
for use in livestock watering and crop irrigation.
Net zero efforts are accomplished by collecting and processing
all liquid and solid waste on-site through a constructed wetlands
bio-system which then returns appropriately filtered water back
into the watershed. The school is minimally hooked up to water
municipalities. Local and regional material production has helped
reduce carbon footprint and the cost to the owner in terms of
transportation, Hill says.
So far, so good, so green
At Locust Trace, this project's metal components have provided
opportunities, not problems. "The greatest challenges and rewards
of this project relate to the comprehensive, integrated net zero
goals of the school; constructing all the components to fully
integrate and tie together to create a facility capable of meeting
these sustainability goals with informed, involved occupants," Hill
says. After a year up and running, this very unique Agriscience
school has all its controls in place and administrators are
currently fine tuning their commissioning to meet all net zero
energy requirements.
Locust Trace Agriscience Farm, Lexington, Ky.
Developer: Fayette County Public Schools,
Lexington
Architect: Tate Hill Jacobs Architects Inc.,
Lexington
General contractor: Messer Construction,
Lexington
Steel beam fabricator: Harry Gordon Steel,
Lexington
Aluminum storefront: Kawneer Co. Inc.,
Norcross,
Ga., www.kawneer.com,
Circle #37
Aluminum sun louvers: Industrial Louvers,
Delano,
Minn., www.industriallouvers.com,
Circle #38
Fans: Big Ass Fans, Lexington, www.bigassfans.com,
Circle #39
Metal wall and roof panels/gutters and
drainspouts:
Fabral, Lancaster, Pa., www.fabral.com, Circle #40
Photovoltaics: SunPower, San Jose, Calif.,
us.sunpowercorp.com, Circle
#41
Roof clamps: S-5!, Colorado Springs, Colo.,
www.s-5.com, Circle #42
Steel deck/trusses/joists: New Millenium,
Butler,
Ind., www.newmill.com,
Circle #43
Steel wall framing: Clark Western, West
Chester,
Ohio, www.clarkdietrich.com,
Circle #44