Let in the light: Aluminum windows provide natural light and energy efficiency (CASE STUDY)
by Jonathan McGaha | March 31, 2009 12:00 am
Windows can make a big impact on any building, allowing you to see inside and
look out. This is especially important for a school, because after all, how
else would the kids daydream? But assuming everyone is paying attention,
windows offer the vitality of natural lighting, create a visual pattern for the
exterior of the building and, if done right, add energy efficiency to the
school. And even though you want the students focused on class, it’s always
nice to have a good view.
In the case of the Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., high-performance windows manufactured from recycled aluminum by Wausau Window and Wall Systems, Wausau, Wis., helped the private school’s Academic Building earn LEED Gold certification. Valor opened the building in August 2007 and is the first private school in the state to earn LEED Gold, which was achieved in November 2008. The school’s athletic building was certified LEED Gold at the same time. The football and track stadium earned LEED Gold in February 2009.
The aluminum windows on the three-story, 118,000-square-foot
(12,077-m2) Academic Building feature 20 percent recycled content. They are also thermally broken with plastic to cut down on heat/ cold transfer. The building’s aluminum curtainwall from Oldcastle Glass Vistawall, Santa Monica, Calif., includes 58 percent recycled content.
“They are very large windows,” said Matt Porta, AIA, senior associate with Denver-based SLATERPAULL Architects, the architect on the project. The windows range in size from approximately 3 to 7 feet (0.9 to 2.1 m) wide, and 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) tall. “The
[43] classrooms are well daylit spaces. We do have daylighting controls built in the lighting controls, so on sunny days not all the lights can be turned on. There have been enough studies within the last 15 years that show that students learn better and the overall learning environment for teachers is improved with natural light in the classrooms.”
Valor’s school leaders agreed that natural lighting would help students maintain alertness and interest. Perhaps this effect counteracts that urge to daydream. And according to Porta, it’s sunny enough in Denver to help warm the spaces through the windows.
Enjoying the View
When you were in school, you may have been lucky to see a tree or maybe the student parking lot from the windows, but at Valor’s Academic Building, there are direct views of the Rocky Mountains. The school building itself, meanwhile, has a look of distinction.
“The intent of the overall design was to design a school that had an image of the tradition of the East Coast private prep school,” Porta said. “We wanted to have a feel like it had some history. The aluminum windows, because of their historic shape and profile, allowed the level of detail that was consistent with the overall style of the architecture to come through.
“The architecture was replicate of a prep school built in the late 1800s, so it is tying back to that era. The buildings are designed primarily using brick and stone as the exterior material. The detailing of the masonry was done in ways to replicate this era and time, and the windows provided another layer of detail that would be reminiscent of that era. Modern commercial buildings or schools would use a much simpler profile, just a rectangle. Instead there’s this profiled edge reminiscent of the old wood windows.”
As well as being recyclable and consisting of recycled content, the aluminum windows are maintenance free, so the school was able to get modern benefits with a look that still talked to history, Porta explained.
The Wausau window frames were painted by Linetec, Wausau, in a durable, bronze finish. Colorado Window Systems of Denver installed Wausau’s insulated window units to meet the school’s short construction timeline, as well as the school’s performance and sustainable design goals. Also aiding a fast construction was a steel joist and deck from Vulcraft, Alpharetta, Ga., and structural studs from Dietrich Metal Framing, Columbus, Ohio.
“The windows are energy efficient and provide proper lighting yet remain aesthetically appealing,” said Shannon L. Dreyfuss, executive vice president and CFO of Valor Christian High School. “As the first private high school in Colorado to receive a LEED Gold certification, we are very pleased.”
Sustainable Features
Along with the energy efficiency and recyclable content that came along with the aluminum windows, the project incorporated a number of other factors to achieve LEED Gold.
According to Porta, the brick for the building came from a local source; the site design incorporated water-efficient features and landscaping; and a synthetic turf field was used instead of grass.
“The site itself was a vacant lot,” Porta said. “There are LEED points tied to utilizing a piece of land that was isolated or had limited use otherwise.”
Another important feature of the sustainable design was an air delivery method called “displacement ventilation.” As opposed to a traditional overhead mixing system, the air comes in near the floor level of a space at a temperature of about 65 F (18 C).
“As the air passes by something that’s hot, a person or a computer, the cool air rises, cooling the object it passes,” Porta explained. He said there is a lot less air to mix because an overhead system has to consider all the air in the entire space. Whereas with displacement ventilation, the air comes in low, hits your feet, rises past you and gets warmer along the way, but you don’t have to worry about what it does at ceiling level.
“It’s also healthier because it’s not mixing all the air around. If you have someone sneeze, it rises to the ceiling and is exhausted from the space, therefore, you’ll never see it.
“Using that mechanical system allowed less energy to be used to condition the space, and the big goal of what LEED is about is reducing energy.”
Valor Christian High School Academic Building, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Architect: SLATERPAULL Architects, Denver
General contractor: Saunders Construction Inc., Englewood, Colo.
Civil engineer: The Lund Partnership, Lakewood, Colo.
Structural engineer: Anderson & Hastings, Denver
Landscape architect: DHM Design, Denver
Mechanical and electrical engineer: RMH Group, Denver
Window installer: Colorado Window Systems, Denver
Curtainwall: Oldcastle Vistawall, Santa Monica, Calif.
Aluminum windows: Wausau Window and Wall Systems, Wausau, Wis.
Window coating: Linetec, Wausau
Steel joist and deck: Vulcraft, Alpharetta, Ga.
Structural studs: Dietrich Metal Framing, Columbus, Ohio
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/let-in-the-light-aluminum-windows-provide-natural-light-and-energy-efficiency-case-study/