In 2007, the Ferris Independent School District in Ferris, Texas, set out to build a new high-performance high school after facing rising energy and maintenance costs as a result of dated lighting and mechanical equipment. Today, Ferris High School helps make the district one of the most energy efficient in the state.
The school’s trademark is its 500-foot- (152-m-) long open commons area spanning the building’s east side and featuring a Wall Light system from CPI Daylighting Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., that is glazed with 4-inch (102-mm) Quadwall pre-assembled Clear Matte sandwich panels.
“We wanted that to be an open plaza, but needed to enclose it for security reasons, so we used [CPI’s] daylighting panels to give that feel of being an open, exterior space acting as the spine of the school,” said Dale Rabe, AIA, owner of the architectural firm Rabe + Partners. “The Quadwall was the product we needed to make the open area happen. We wouldn’t have been able to design the building the way it is with the daylighting if we wouldn’t have had it.”
Specified with a Clear Matte finish, the Quadwall panels provide an insulation U-value of 0.239 and a shading co-efficient of 0.43, bringing diffused daylight into the building without glare and heat gain.
The school features 7,000 square feet (650 m2) of Quadwall throughout the building, including at the main entrance, teacher’s entrance and in the music room. Working with the school’s daylight sensors and a district-wide automation system, the Quadwall panels are a central piece of the energy efficiency of the high school.
Rabe + Partners, Austin, Texas, was the architect, and Metal Systems, Irving, Texas, was the general contractor.
CPI Daylighting Inc., www.cpidaylighting.com
