Category: people

As the first net-positive energy public school in Massachusetts, the Annie E. Fales elementary school is breaking new ground in the design of energy efficient schools. Sawtooth roof shapes provide optimal positioning for PV panels on the south side, while on the north face skylights draw daylight into the learning spaces. Stunning light conditions and views of the surrounding environment, including woodlands, meadows, and a pond, characterize the new elementary school, while staggered window heights and child-scaled details demonstrate how a breakthrough design can also be a welcoming and engaging environment for both its young learners and teachers.

Natural light is a critical facet in the design of well-lit spaces. Daylighting contributes not only to the energy savings of a building, but to the wellbeing of its occupants. At this year’s ArchitectureBoston Expo (ABX), Alexandra Gadawski is co-leading a workshop on designing comfortable, energy-efficient spaces through daylighting with Lam Partners and Compass Project Management. Alexandra and her fellow presenters will examine how the eye perceives brightness and impart strategies for planning and designing these environments—from selecting colors and finishes to utilizing metrics and tools to analyze and model daylight, including digital and heliodon modeling using classrooms in the new Arlington High School as a base to explore daylighting possibilities.

As Vice President of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) of North America’s Boston Section, and HMFH’s own sustainability leader in building science, Alexandra’s contributions to lighting design through daylight and energy modeling support student health and reduce energy. Her recent project experience includes the Roeper School Learning Commons in Birmingham, MI, the Hastings Early Childhood Center, and the Florida Ruffin Ridley School—each honored for their exceptional lighting design by the IES.

Student action is vital to the sustainable efforts of any school. The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Schools as Teaching Tools program connects schools with its network of professionals to equip students to lead and drive sustainable changes. As a Green Building Professional Mentor with the USGBC, Stephanie MacNeil partnered with Boston Latin School, a renovation and expansion project completed by HMFH in 2001. At this year’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, Stephanie, fellow mentors, and student mentees will share lessons and strategies learned throughout the process.

The BLS chapter of YouthCAN gathered feedback from the student body for the previous year; using Arc, a digital sustainability performance platform affiliated with the USGBC, they were also able to collect data on the building’s energy, waste, transportation, and human experience. Working with the information they had gathered, Stephanie led student charrettes to help them determine tangible changes to adopt as well as ideas for new, healthy environments at the school based on the desires of their peers: an on-campus “calm room” and greenspace. As a result, the students crafted and submitted a detailed proposal for their renovation ideas to Boston Public Schools.