Buildings that Teach

List of 2 items.

• Indoor/Architectural Sustainability Features

  • Touch interactive digital monitors can be used to show video, view websites or as a touch-screen for writing and visual diagrams [1];
  • Digital dashboards provide comparative information about energy and water usage in real time across multiple buildings;
  • Ventilation systems prioritize natural cooling as much as possible, including energy efficient fans and clerestory windows that maximize trade winds [2];
  • Water meter displays in restrooms and refillable water bottle stations quantify the number of plastic water bottles saved;
  • Temperature-sensitive display ports alert students when natural ventilation is preferable to air-conditioning [3];
  • Daylight- and motion-sensor lighting systems automatically adjust brightness for exterior light and shut off when the room is empty to reduce energy consumption [4];
  • Exposed structural elements and cutouts of interior walls and lanai floors make elements like insulation, plumbing and electricity visible and teachable [5].

   

• Outdoor Sustainability Features

  • Photovoltaic panels support the buildings’ net-zero energy consumption [6];
  • Vegetative “green screens” and light-colored roofs absorb and reflect solar heat and reduce the need to cool buildings [7];
  • A 25,000-square-foot native Hawaiian forest environment with trails and boulders supports an outdoor classroom [8];
  • Numerous plants support Hawaiian Studies curriculum, including kalo, palapalai, pili grass, noni, lonomea, koa, kukui and ‘ulu [8];
  • Backyard garden plots are dedicated to each set of ground-floor classrooms, and a 4,000-square-foot community garden is shared by the entire neighborhood [9];
  • Cisterns located outside of each building capture rainwater for gardening [10];
  • Permeable pavers, a gabion wall and bioswale absorb excess runoff – the bioswale also helps to illustrate the interconnected water systems of an ahupua‘a or watershed [11].