NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION COCONUT GROVE LEED CERTIFIED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PROJECT SCOPE The New Campus Elementary School program includes a freestanding welcome office, 4 pre-
kindergarten classrooms , support spaces, a computer/language lab, administrative offices, and a small retail
shop. The total area is 14,650 SF.

Courtyard View

BACKGROUND & HISTORY Established in 1958, the school is recognized for its academic rigor and long history
of environmental conscientiousness. For decades, students, teachers and parents have gathered in the
campus courtyard every morning and pledge to be responsible stewards of the earth. When a new classroom
building was needed the school set a course for building green.
CONTEXT The school is located in the City of Miami's Coconut Grove, a wooded village known for its lush
surroundings eclectic restaurants and retail lined streets.

Southeast Balcony Administrative Offices at Northwest

Classroom
 Retail Shop Facing Perimeter Street

PROJECT GOAL Design and construct a sustainable, green, healthy school that celebrates the area’s unique
character and charm.

STATUS OF SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES Completed in August 2010, it was officially certified on April 29, 2011
and is the first LEED certified private school and the second certified school in all of Miami-Dade, Broward, and
Monroe Counties. Since completion, the building has been used as a teaching tool for students. Teachers,
staff, parents and students have all reported overwhelming satisfaction with the way the building 'feels', while
administrators boast about its energy performance and comfort.
PROCESS/DESIGN STRATEGIES The school's administrative staff and parents chose a design and construction
team that was committed to creating a building that would exist in harmony with its surroundings and would
provide healthy spaces to foster the best possible education for young children.

The Team:

• Architect and Landscape Architects

• Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Structural, Civil and Acoustical Engineers
• Arborist
• Seasoned Contracting Team
• Owner's Representative
• Performance Green Building Consultant – LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP BD+C)
• Commissioning Authority

With assistance from the Green Building Consultant/LEED AP, the team engaged in the integrative design
process that involved several design and construction charrettes and numerous meetings. Through the
intensive, face-to-face collaborative process the many design alternatives, products, and strategies brought
forth were distilled to yield an optimal design. A streamlined, smooth construction process achieved the
established goals and exceeded expectations. The integrated design process also engaged administrative staff
and parents from the community, further enhancing design.

The project site borders the campus courtyard on the southeast and a retail street on the northwest. Miami
Zoning required that the project incorporate a retail component facing the main road. A shop was located on
the corner of the site. To minimize its impact on the overall land use, it shares an elevator and stairwell with
the school building.

The building had to fit within the existing tight campus plan where the original structure had been located. The
initial goal was to incorporate the existing building into a new LEED building design. However, after further
examination, it was determined that this was not feasible. One of the primary factors was that the old
building’s floor level was more than 18” below the adjacent roadway and below the 100 year flood plain. The
building had been used for storage for some time because of sick building syndrome issues caused by decades
of flooding.
During demolition useable materials were salvaged and safely stored to be used in the new project or
recycled. The original bell, plaques and corner stone were incorporated into the new building’s welcome
office. The original pine trusses were transported off site where nails were removed by hand, then planed and
used in the many artisan benches found throughout the building and grounds.

Existing Bell in New Welcome Center Façade Interior of Welcome Center

An extensive and detailed tree preservation plan was part of the scheme and holistic design. Large first-
generation, mature oaks existing on the campus were to remain untouched and protected. Even though this
restricted the building footprint, the intent was to foster a relationship and harmony between learning spaces
with the existing oaks as well as all the existing and new plant species, including an additional 14 new oaks.
Reducing microclimate and the heat island effect was part of the strategy so special attention was paid to
preserving the existing tree canopy and extending it through time, over both the roof and parking areas.
Thanks to exhaustive work of the architect, landscape architect and arborist many now describe a magical
sense of how the trees and building seem as if they’re one entity.

View from Southwest Office

To enhance the relationship between spaces and the outdoors, the building contains extensive areas of glass.
Striking a balance between views of the outdoors, daylight harvesting and energy performance was perhaps
one of the biggest challenges. Further compounding this challenge was the architect’s desire to have the glass
as clear as possible. A reflective or dark tint would detract from the look, feel and connection to the outdoors.
Extensive overhangs were designed and newest technologies in ‘Low Energy’ (low-e) laminated glass were
employed.

The low-e glass is one of the significant contributors to the building’s energy performance. Perhaps the most
significant is the incorporation of what’s known as ‘thermal storage’. During the evening hours, where it’s
cooler and peak electrical rates are lowest, a large volume of ice is generated, then during the daytime the
cool air from the melting ice is used to reduce the need for energy during peak hours. Combined strategies of
a tight, insulated wall and roof system, low-e glass and thermal storage created an outstanding energy
efficient building.

Language and Technology Lab Curtain Wall at School Administration Offices

PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS
ENERGY USE – OVERALL ENERGY SAVINGS BASED ON ENERGY MODEL – 24.5%
• Energy Efficient Glass ( Low-e)
• Extended Overhangs
• Daylight Harvesting, Operable Windows in Primary Rooms
• Energy Efficient Lighting - Occupancy sensors, LED Fixtures, CFL Fixtures
• Thermal Storage/Load Shifting Mechanical System
• Cool Roof
• Landscape Shading

Energy Efficient Curtain Wall Ice Chiller

WATER USE – 40% WATER REDUCTION ACHIEVED

• Rain Water Harvesting for Irrigation – No Potable Water for Irrigation
• Low Flow – Ultra Low Flow Fixtures with Sensors

Downspout Cistern Low Flow Sinks with Sensors

MATERIALS - EMISSIONS
• 87% Construction and Demolition Waste Diverted from Landfill and Incineration
• 18% Recycled Content
• 13% Regionally Sourced
• Concrete Slab and Bearing Walls 30% Fly Ash

INDOOR AIR QUALITY - COMFORT AND WELL BEING

• Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring
• Construction IAQ Management Plan
• Low-emitting Materials and Finishes
• Lighting System Controllability, Thermal Comfort - Controllability
• Separate Control of Humidity and Temperature
• Thermal Comfort Verification
• 100% of Spaces Daylight Harvesting
• 100% of Spaces Views of the Outdoors
• 100% Low VOC Paints, Adhesives and Sealants, Green Guard Furniture
PROJECT RESULTS/LESSONS LEARNED

As with any custom construction project literally hundreds of lessons were learned during the process. Two of
which are the demonstrated success of the ice-storage chiller skid and the positive effects of commissioning
on the cooling and heating system. Early in the design process the owner expressed a willingness to pursue
"outside the box" thinking so long as the equipment would work "out of the box".

Considering the local electric utility rate structure and the building's anticipated usage patterns, the team
determined that the project would benefit from a drop-in-place ice-storage cooling system. In particular, the
energy model was able to estimate the savings for comparison against equipment cost. The ice-storage skid
shifts a portion of the building's electricity demand to less expensive off-peak hours, at the same time,
operating more efficiently than a comparable air-cooled chiller sized for peak demand. It also made chilled
water a viable strategy, outperforming less costly but less efficient packaged DX AC equipment.

The skid's effectiveness was demonstrated a few months after building start-up when the owner was able to
switch to the correct off-peak rate structure, dropping utility bills at a time when cooling demands were
increasing. This reduces the overall load on the electric grid, keeping infrastructure costs low and forestalling
the use of inefficient, dirty "peaker plants". A $25,000.00 rebate from Florida Power and Light also made the
chiller a more cost effective long term solution.

Another lesson was learned from the commissioning process. The owner had not employed a commissioning
agent in the past, and therefore had never required a formal functional test effort. During testing of the HVAC
it was found that the system could not maintain a comfortable indoor temperature during the heating season.
It was discovered that an error made during programming caused the cooling system to operate continuously,
even when heating only was required. Supply air was being chilled to 55 deg F before then being warmed
(ineffectually) by the electric heating elements. This resulted in excess energy consumption and unhappy
occupants. The sequence was corrected and the problem disappeared overnight. In this case, commissioning
resulted in a healthier, more comfortable building that cost less to operate.

The resulting benefits to the owner/client can best be summed up by the Assistant Head of the Elementary
School. She describes the impact on the students and community. “Our new LEED building enhances the lives
of everyone at the school and those that pass by on the street. We are truly a leader in conservation!”

She continues, “Our new environmental curriculum inspired by the high performance features of the building
begins with the Pre-K class program and continues with our graduating class of 5th Graders. The pledge our
students recite each morning at flag salute to care for the earth and preserve its resources has begun to
actually mean something to them. Several parents reported toward the end of the school year that their
children are relentless at home encouraging the entire family to reduce, reuse and recycle.”

“Teachers embraced the idea environmental curriculum this year and developed varied, hands-on experiences
that allowed their students to understand the high performing features of the new building. Several classes
took tours of the facility given by the architect and other design team members to learn how the different
aspects of the building work and which parts came from recycled and/or reused materials.

The PK3 students wrote a book about it entitled Pre-K L.E.E.D.S. the Way. Our building helps us save the
planet! Our bathroom walls are made from old glass bottles and windows. Wow, our windows are so big! They
help us save energy and let the sun shine in! The cabinets and tables in Mrs. M’s classroom are made from
Florida pine trees, and in Ms. R’s room, the cabinets and tables are made from Florida oak trees. All the sinks
in our building turn off by themselves so we don’t waste water. We love our new GREEN building.”

“Our School and Home Association continued the tradition of recycling our school uniforms and our Spring
book, puzzles, games and DVD swap. Our technology director has promoted a variety of websites and iPhone
apps designed to educate families and the community about the size of their carbon footprint. Our science
teachers promoted Earth Hour with our “Top 10 Things You Can Do for Earth Hour” and celebrated Earth Day
with a week of targeted Earth Day skits, announcements, and activities. “

“The maintenance staff has been very involved in our green efforts this year. Our facilities director led his crew
in the redesigned of our existing campus landscape to include more mulch and zeroscape ground cover. He
also moved sprinkler heads for max coverage with less water consumption. He removed high voltage ground
lights in the gardens and installed 24 volt ground lighting.”We have reduced our water usage by 4% according
to our latest EcoLab report. We use only fresh herbs from the students’ garden.”

“Our food preparation methods have changed. We use our food scraps to feed the worm farm. We don’t turn
on our ovens until we actually need them instead of letting them run all day and turn them off immediately
after lunch to conserve electricity. We are committed to finding local vendors for our food purchases. Every
day and in every way our school strives to be a good steward of the Earth.”
ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING MATERIAL

• SUPPORTING PHOTOGRAPHS
• SECTION DIAGRAM
• CAMPUS PLAN
• FLOOR PLANS
• LEED CHECKLIST
• EA SUMMARY REPORT

During an eco class lesson, Architect returns to school to discuss

Facilities Staff Member showed Grade 4 the features of the structure
students the cistern that collects rain water to and explain the process of designing
be used for irrigation and constructing a green building.

Section shows some highlighted items used in LEED as a Teaching Tool

Large Oak Tree Shades SW Façade and Adjacent Parking Lot

Daylighting in 100 % of Occupied Rooms

Long Overhangs and Energy Efficient Lighting

Arbor and Trellis

Campus Survey
Ground Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan