While building green may be a growing trend in the school construction industry, it wasn't even on the agenda for Alexandria, Va., school board members when they began deciding what to include in plans for the redevelopment of T.C. Williams High School. Through an education campaign by community grassroots organizations touting the advantages of environmental sustainability, all that changed. Now, as the finishing touches are being put on T.C. Williams students, parents, teachers, and a steady stream of visitors are impressed with the features that make it the first green school in this part of the state.
The school has received a statewide Green Innovation Award for its environmental-friendly features and is undergoing certification to meet the stringent standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) school program.
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Photo: Kevin Davis
The atrium serves as a naturally lighted meeting room for both school students and outside community groups.
Although many of the green features at the new school are more obvious, such as the amount of daylight that comes in—even on a cloudy day—and a rooftop garden that filters rainwater and helps to reflect the sun's heat, other innovations are buried deep in the ground. Beneath the student plaza at the front of the school sits a 450,000-gallon underground cistern that collects and stores rainwater for use in toilet flushing, air-conditioning, and irrigation. Along with other water conservation measures, such as waterless urinals (a liquid sealant prevents gases and odors from rising up in the plumbing), the rainwater collection system may save the school up to $40,000 annually in water fees, says John Porter, Alexandria Public Schools assistant superintendent in charge of the T.C. Williams project.
Like all green schools, the design of the high school will take advantage of natural lighting and energy-efficient windows that help insulate the building's interior from temperature extremes outside while providing more daylight. The design of the 461,000-square-foot, two-story school built for 2,500 students allows daylight into 92 percent of the classrooms, allowing reduced use of electrical lighting. "This allows less energy to be used as if the school had a smaller ‘footprint,’" Porter says.
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Photo: Kevin Davis
A typical feature of green schools, floor-to-ceiling windows in the library provide ample daylight and less reliance on artificial lighting.
Reinforcing a Green Message for Students
Students everywhere tend to voice concern about the environment, whether it's global warming, water conservation, pollution, or sustainability of ecosystems, but at T.C. Williams, like other green schools, they'll have ready data about the school's environmental statistics featured on a large plasma screen in the lunch room—a vast sea of tables, chairs, and cozy booths for 680, named the Ferdinand T. Day Students Commons.
On the screen, students will be able to see data for water levels in the cistern and school electrical and gas consumption, along with other numbers on air conditioning and heating use. School officials envision that study of the data could be incorporated into a variety of science and math classes.
Students and teachers will also have access to the school's 8,000-square-foot rooftop garden, which is planted with drought-resistant sedum and thyme. Work areas will allow students to conduct experiments, such as pH testing of water.
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Photo: Kevin Davis
T.C. Williams High School, a newly built green school in Alexandria, Va., features a rooftop garden that will filter rainwater for use in the school’s nonpotable water system.
While solar energy does not figure into the school's energy quotient, several rooftop solar panels will generate five kilowatts of electrical energy—enough to light a house and run most of its appliances. Situated in view of the earth science classroom, the panels are intended to "spark student imagination" to show that sunlight can be turned into electrical energy, says Mark Burke, Alexandria Public Schools' director of planning and construction. Students will be able to view solar energy data on display panels near the classroom.
Building a green high school may not have happened if the ad hoc group, the Alexandrians for a Green T.C., hadn't pushed the idea forward in its community.
"When we demystified what ‘green’ meant and put it in practical terms of health and learning advantages—for parents—and long term savings—for the school board—it sold itself," David Peabody, president of Alexandrians for a Green T.C., recalls. "People like to be ‘for’ rather than ‘against’ something in these fractious times. This gave our whole community something to feel good about that really has no downside."
