Local schools take environmentally friendly approach to construction

Posted on: 10/16/2008

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By Cate Lecuyer, Staff writer

BEVERLY, Mass. — It isn't easy being green. But with government incentives and the promise of long-term savings, it's getting easier to construct energy-efficient buildings with light sensors, wind power and gardens on the roof. And it's no accident that schools — the institutions responsible for educating young minds and thus shaping the future — are at the forefront of green building.

"Schools and universities are teaching the new generation what's best for the population in general," said Bill Vitkosky, who's managing plans for a new visual and performing arts center at Endicott College. The building includes remote control lighting, a heating and air conditioning system that physical plant can manage with the click of a mouse, and a rooftop garden where students can hang out. "It will actually give us an insulating layer of material that will reduce heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer," Vitkosky said.

Montserrat College President Helena Sturnick had a similar view on plans to build four apartment-style dormitories that will be LEED certified, meaning they'll meet the highest federal standards for green construction.

Part of that, for example, means having the frames of the buildings put together by a green-certified manufacturer in New Hampshire, and then transporting them to Beverly in a wide-load truck. The construction is done off-site, and the manufacturer is held to air-quality standards that are better for the environment, Sturnick said. Like the art center at Endicott, the dorms at Montserrat will also have green roofs. "More and more schools are accepting the fact that you've got to go green. It's not just for now, but for the future," Sturnick said. "And we're working with the next generation of artists, and people who will live on this earth."

Public schools are also embracing the green movement, especially since 2006 when the state mandated green elements, like improved indoor air quality, and agreed to reimburse a portion of projects that meet energy-efficient standards. Combined with rebates from utility companies, schools have been able to afford better heating systems, lighting, windows and other energy reducing features. Plans for the new Beverly High School, for instance, include lighting that automatically adjusts to the amount of daylight in the room, so the lights are never unnecessarily bright, and they turn off when nobody is in the room.

Beverly planners also hope to supply half of the building's electrical needs through wind and solar power. It would cost about $2 million, but emerging grant opportunities and incentives for municipalities and schools to go green may make it feasible, Mayor Bill Scanlon has said. "We have the opportunity to provide the high school with the largest percentage of renewable energy, to the best of my knowledge, of any school in the entire state of Massachusetts," Scanlon said during his inaugural address in January. "We all know what is happening to the price of fossil fuels with gas now over $3 per gallon."

Indeed, growing concern about the environment combined with state incentives to go green are drastically changing how schools are being built, said Joseph da Silva, an architect and consultant who specializes in green schools in Massachusetts and on the North Shore. "If you're building a school that's not green, you're really not spending your money wisely," he said. Although initial costs are more expensive, the idea is the project will eventually pay for itself through energy savings that accumulate over time. "You're making a 30- to 50-year investment," he said.

'World has changed'

When Swampscott began planning for a new high school in 2003, it was before going green had so much support from the state, and the town couldn't afford the upfront costs. "It would have taken years and years to reap the benefits," said Joe Markarian, a member of the Swampscott school building committee. "At least 20 years."

The town looked into green alternatives like a roof garden, a windmill and drilling into the earth for thermal heat, but it was all too expensive. Instead, they designed the building with as many windows as possible, and with southern and eastern exposure so the sun would shine in most of the day, and cut down on lighting and heating costs.

Markarian said the town also purchased better heating and cooling systems through utility companies that were offering rebates. He said nobody is disappointed with the building, which was completed last year, but over time it's become much easier to build green schools as more people have embraced the concept. "This was five years ago, and the world has changed a lot," Markarian said. "People are far more green conscious today."