NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Designing for the future is an incredibly complicated business. It ranges from the look of a building, to its functionality, and now more important than ever, its environmental impact. When North Kansas City's new Staley High School opens this fall, students will see lots of green. But beyond the green Falcon mascot, they will be living and learning green as well, thanks to Hollis + Miller Architects. "As architects, we're trained inherently to address sustainable concepts and incorporate those into our projects,” partner Keegan Jackson said. Hollis + Miller designed Staley High School and Bell Prairie Elementary School currently under construction next door. They incorporated an impressive list of sustainable and LEED concepts into their plans for each campus. LEED stands for "leadership in energy and environmental design." “Really, LEED becomes a measuring stick in 'How green are you in your design solutions?' Or 'How green is your building?'” senior associate Chris Heinz said. “But sustainable design concepts have been employed by our office for many, many years, even decades."Hollis + Miller work with each client, customizing their project to both needs and budget. In the cases of these schools, green becomes a double benefit when you factor in teaching tools. For example, a green roof will also serve as a roof garden. “The idea being we can bring them up there and use it as a teaching laboratory,” Heinz said. “And teach them about why a green roof is important. How it insulates the roof and keeps things warm in the winter time, or how it keeps the roof actually cooler in the summer time.”While going green can cost more up front, it is the cost savings down the road that make a difference. The geo-thermal heating and cooling system is a big factor, according to Heinz. “In essence, what this is, is we take water and run it through our building, that's used for heating and cooling. When that water exits the building, it goes out to one of the practice soccer fields,” Heinz said.There, below the earth, it is either heated or cooled, and recycled back to the building.Extra windows are another bonus. The added daylight saves energy and makes a more productive workplace. All in all, keeping learning at the forefront. “And the net result is your children are learning good habits,” according to Jackson. “And those good habits then permeate into the family and then permeate into the larger community.”Hollis + Miller will soon score a triple LEED with these two schools in North Kansas City, and a new middle school in Raymore-Peculiar. Plus, they just learned Friday that Staley High School has been certified LEED silver.
|
