Plumosa School of the Arts has received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This school has been built by Suffolk Construction. Based on sustainable features, performance and energy usage, innovative design of existing or new buildings, and other green criteria, the LEED Gold certification has been awarded to the school.
The School District and the faculty at Plumosa, through their dedication to sustainability, created a ‘green’ curriculum to give students a better understanding of the green ideas that improve the per
In South Florida, Plumosa is one of the first elementary schools with a curriculum for the Arts. In this project, Atlantic High School campus was also renovated. This school is about 92,000 sq. ft. It features an auditorium with 640 seats.
The school district has announced that LEED Silver certification would be mandatory for all projects. In order to achieve this, Suffolk Construction together with Tercilla Courtemanche Architects’ design team assessed this project and the traditional USGBC point system to develop sustainable strategies. The low-flow plumbing and motion light sensors were included in this project, thus saving significant water and energy.
Specific indigenous plants and grasses were grown in the landscape since the school was situated on a large site. This landscape didn’t require much irrigation, thus saving water. This project was developed on a Brownfield site. The team minimized the parking spaces by sharing the parking spaces with adjacent City of Delray Swimming Complex, thus minimizing the island heat effect produced from asphalted parking areas.
The team used regional materials for this project, and also took advantage of Renewable Energy Credits and Certified Woods programs. The old asphalt, which was demolished, was reused in order to prevent wastage of materials. The team used the waste management system rather than sending the crushed asphalt to the landfill during demolition to repurpose for base course and in turn to stabilize the new parking spaces.
The green curriculum has been created by the faculty at Plumosa and the School District to help students understand the green ideas in a better manner and thus enhance the school’s performance.
Source: http://www.suffolkconstruction.com