The new building, scheduled for August 2010 completion, is designed to be the centerpiece of the campus. The building is designed by Carrier Johnson based in San Diego, and construction is being managed by Swinerton Incorporated, based in San Francisco.
Pacific Ridge aims to be one of the few schools in the nation to achieve US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – Gold certification.
The two-story high school building is designed to offer students a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, with natural lighting and a free flow of air from the outside. The school building features 19 classrooms, four science laboratories, two student reading lounges, a college counseling area, and faculty and staff administration offices.
About 99% of the school’s classroom and support spaces will have access to daylight and views. Each reading lounge will feature ‘butterfly’ roofs that are designed to provide lighting and cooling. The lounges also will feature overhead doors that will open to outdoor courtyards shaded by trellises and trees.
Passive ventilation is featured throughout the school, and hence, conventional air conditioning will be used 49% of the time. Sensors that measure interior lighting will be used to automatically adjust light levels and save electricity.
Energy-efficient gas heaters, low-flow fixtures and waterless urinals are the other energy efficient elements of the building. These measures are expected to result in 30% reduction in water use. Solar panels are installed on the roof, and a flat-screen display in the lobby will track current and past energy consumption. An automated irrigation system, which reduces landscape irrigation by 50%, is another sustainable feature integrated in the facility.
Summing up, all of the school’s measures will reduce energy consumption by more than 40% compared to a building designed according to the California Energy Code.
