Butterfield to get new look, go green
Posted on Sunday, March 2, 2008
When it first opened its doors in 1968, Butterfield Trail Elementary School's claim to fame was that it was the first open classroom school in Arkansas.
Forty years later, that original open classroom design has been deemed a dated concept, and it is being phased out as part of a planned renovation and expansion project for the facility.
With the redesign, though, school officials hope to give the school a new unique distinction as the Fayetteville School District's first certified green school building.
Associate Superintendent Randy Willison and architect Wes Burgess of Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates said they hope to achieve a certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating for the school through the U. S. Green Building Council.
The Fayetteville Board of Education set aside nearly $ 8 million for the project, which is scheduled to get under way in the spring and be finished by the opening of the 2009-2010 school year.
The changes are expected to increase the school's capacity to 600 students. The school had a fall enrollment of about 470 students.
In November, school administrators rated the current capacity at 520, but there was a consensus among parents and space needs board members that the existing building space does not meet modern standards.
Willison said after reviewing the plans for the new design, the architects believed they could achieve a certified LEED rating without many adjustments that would strain the project's budget.
"It was certainly worth the investment," Willison said. "Not only is it environmen- tally friendly, but it saves on (energy ) costs."
Burgess said the LEED system evaluates buildings based on a point system. The facility would be evaluated by a "third party"and receive a point for things done during the construction process or incorporated in the design that meet the LEED criteria.
To achieve the certified green level, the school will have to be awarded between 29 to 36 points on its LEED evaluation.
"We think we can achieve 31 points," Burgess said. "I would be surprised if we didn't get it."
If the school were to surpass 36 points, it could achieve the Green Building Council's silver certification rating, Burgess said. Silver certification is a designation the Fayetteville Public Library holds.
The council also has gold and platinum certification levels for more advanced buildings.
The Butterfield project will expand the school to approximately 72, 000 square feet by adding to the front of the current building. The older portions of the building will be remodeled with enclosed classrooms.
Features in the official project plan filed with the city of Fayetteville include a new 28, 000-square-foot addition on the front of the existing building, a detached 6, 800-squarefoot gymnasium and a 2, 500-square-foot prekindergarten facility.
Some of the features that will help the school earn points on its path to green certification include points for the number of bicycle racks and a shower system for employees who bicycle to work, Burgess said.
The school will also receive credit if a certain percentage of the materials used in the project are made within 500 miles of the job site, he said. Buying materials locally is considered more environmentally friendly because less energy is used in transporting them.
The roof will also feature a white membrane surface that reflects light instead of absorbing it.
The fact that the plan calls for remodeling the current building will help it achieve green status, as the school will also receive points for re-use by remodeling the current facility, Burgess said.
The facility will also receive credit for the fact that it is being used as a school.
"That's one of the points, the use of the school as a teaching tool," Burgess said. "They can have curriculum where they explain the school itself."
The school will also receive credit for its water runoff system.
The lighting in the remodeled and expanded Butterfield School will include new T-5 fluorescent lights and light emitting diode lights, Burgess said. The lighting system will include sensors that turn off lights in rooms to save energy when they are not in use. The 2006-built Owl Creek School, which designed by the same architecture firm, includes a lighting system that automatically turns off lights in a room if it is not occupied after a certain number of minutes.
Burgess said he believes Owl Creek could have come close to achieving a green rating if they had pursued the idea when the school was under construction. There aren't any plans now, though, to have the building evaluated to attain green certification.
Like Owl Creek, the redesigned Butterfield will feature a large atrium at its front entrance. The firm has made noticeable entrances a staple of its recent school designs. Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates also designed the new entrance projects under construction at Asbell Elementary School and Woodland Junior High School in Fayetteville.
Burgess said they have begun the process of taking bids on the project and expect some construction to begin in April with dirt work in front of the school. Most of the building construction will take place during the summer and the following school year.
The firm has developed a plan to hold school in different portions of the building for the 2008-2009 school year. As the new portion of the building is completed, some grades will move from the older portion of the building to the new section so the old section can be remodeled.
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