“The manufacturing and delivery process, and the materials and products employed are all selected for minimum environmental impact and for maximum contribution to a healthy indoor environment,” write the architects. “Wherever possible, materials are chosen to conserve resources, minimize initial and lifecycle maintenance costs, and to promote educational awareness of the natural environment and its relationship to comfortable and healthy living. The design focuses on performance issues directly impacting the learning experience of its occupants and the environmental quality of its community—thermal comfort, natural daylighting, indoor air quality, energy and resource conservation and generation.”
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The energy-positive classroom includes extensive environmental monitoring systems that broadcast building performance data to the web, which will be studied by a scientific team for evaluation over a two-year period. The building and performance data will also be used as learning tools for the students, other schools, and the general public. Occupancy sensors will contribute to energy conservation by “learning” patterns of activity, such as automatically turning off the lights when occupants leave the space.