Windrush School was recently recognized as one of the most environmentally friendly schools in Northern California when it earned LEED-platinum certification, the highest rating for sustainable building standards. The U.S. Green Building Council rated the new K-8 Library/Middle School Building “Platinum” because it was built with the priority of conserving resources and saving energy while inspiring the Windrush community to live sustainably.
The building–which features seven state-of-the-art classrooms and a library–will serve as a living classroom and has many interesting aspects. For example, the building’s insulation is made from recycled blue jeans! Air bubbles contained within and between the jeans’ cotton fibers resist heat and absorb sound. A “truth window” enables one to actually peer inside the building’s wall to see what the denim insulation looks like.
“Building green with a sense of purpose and consciousness underscores our commitment to Progressive Education, where students learn to become good citizens, engaged leaders, and community members who care about the planet and its people,” said Ilana Kaufman, Head of School. “Our Platinum LEED certification is an achievement to be celebrated and enjoyed not only by the Windrush community, but also by the City of El Cerrito, the Bay Area, and the independent school community.”
Signs will hang throughout the building to show how it helps conserve precious resources while also reminding people using the building how to save energy. Here’s some information the signs will relay:
- Low-flow faucets, green toilets and water-free urinals save 200,000 gallons of drinking water.
- Concrete helps insulate the classrooms, keeping them warm while using 35% less energy.
- Skylights provide classroom light and natural cooling while also reducing the need for electric lights.
- The concrete mix used to construct the building contains recycled fly ash and slag, which are waste products from electricity and steel production. (The Romans used fly ash to create the first concrete structures.)
- Doors and bookshelves are made of wood from sustainably managed forests and are formaldehyde-free.
- Paints, carpets, sealants and adhesives have low or no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs can release harmful and toxic chemicals).
- The floor stain is made from soybeans rather than acid.
- Radiant-floor heating saves energy by circulating water through the floor as water can carry 3,500 times more heat than the same volume of air.
The building’s roof has several intriguing features. Its solar panels produce about 30% of the building’s electricity, which saves almost 28,000 pounds of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere annually. Plants on the roof and the soil they grow in collect and clean rainwater while helping to keep the building cool and supporting bird and insect life.
Even the landscaping helps reduce environmental impacts! Rainwater from the roof and ground drains into a “marshland” adjacent to the building. The marshland’s plants and soil absorb, clean and evaporate rainwater then release any remaining, already-clean water into the city storm system.
The Windrush community is very proud of its K-8 Library/Middle School building as it strongly reflects not only the school’s core value of sustainability, but its other core values–excellence, authenticity, inspiration and community engagement.
A private school based in one of El Cerrito's most architecturally significant buildings opened a new building Tuesday that's significant in its own right.
