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Sustainable Features of McKinney ISD Elementary School
Abstract
Students planning to attend McKinney
Independent School District's newest 70,000 square
foot elementary school when it opens in the fall of
2000 are in for a special treat.
In addition to standard elementary school
curriculum, students will have the unique opportunity
to study wind and solar energy, feed their frogs and
take care of the school's water habitat, learn in
classrooms illuminated by the sun rather than electric
light, water their bean plants (which they keep in the
school's greenhouse) with harvested rainwater, and
check the weather at the campus weather station.
This project was named by the American
Institute of Architects to the Earth Day Top 10 List
for Environmentally Responsible Design Projects in
the nation
Sustainable design is environmentally sensitive
architecture and engineering - the ability to meet
today's needs without compromising the resources
available to future generations. Environmental
conservation is only one of the reasons to consider
sustainable design. Studies are showing that the
various environmental benefits of sustainable design
also benefit our children in the classroom.
Another major element of sustainable design is
called "Eco Education", a concept that incorporates
the sustainable school into the curriculum so that
students can understand its design and how it impacts
the environment. It's a tremendous teaching tool for
students to learn about environmental conservation.
Harvesting rainwater is a perfect example. By
collecting rainwater from the roof of the building and
channeling it to one of six on-campus storage tanks,
. enough water can be collected to flush toilets and
water the grounds. Other elements of sustainable
design include site planning and landscape
management; the use of recycled building materials;
solar systems; wind energy; geothermal energy
(using the Earth's natural energy to heat and cool the
building), energy recovery, and high energy
efficiency.
The primary goal of sustainable design is to
protect a site's existing environment. As much as
possible, we need to understand and maximize the
natural conditions of a new project's site and
incorporate its features into the overall design. That's
what sustainability is all about.
The purpose of this paper is to present the
specific sustainable features of the McKinney ISD
Elementary School and the process of integrating
sustainability criteria in all phases of the school's life
cycle
Citation
McClure, J. D.; Estes, J. M.; Keep, G. (2000). Sustainable Features of McKinney ISD Elementary School. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6767.