The Sidwell Friends School, a day school for students in pre-K through 12th grade, was founded on Quaker philosophy, which includes a dedication to environmental stewardship. When Sidwell’s board of trustees decided to expand the middle school, green building became a catalyst for the school to enhance its curriculum with an environmental focus and reinvigorate its connection to Quaker values. The project involved renovating a 55-year-old, 33,500-square-foot building as well as constructing a new 39,000-square-foot addition. The three-story, LEED Platinum building, completed in time for the 2006-2007 school year, serves 350 students.
Water Management Takes Center Stage
Smart water management is central to the project design. A constructed wetland between the new and old wings of the middle school treats wastewater from the kitchen and bathrooms and serves as a living laboratory where students can learn about biology, ecology, and chemistry. The treated water is eventually reused in the toilets and cooling towers. Students grow vegetables and herbs for the cafeteria on the green roofs, which also sequester rainwater and reduce stormwater runoff. Excess water flows to the courtyard’s pond and rain garden. Filters and swales incorporated into the landscape purify rainwater falling on the site. No potable water is used for irrigation.
Strategies and Results
Located near a Metrorail subway stop and several bus lines, Sidwell also features bicycle storage and showers to encourage environmentally friendly transportation. Parking spaces are located underground, decreasing their contribution to stormwater runoff and the urban heat-island effect—and allowing the school to showcase more than 80 native species of plants instead of parked cars.
The design team oriented the building to take advantage of passive solar design, and lightshelves and shading devices bounce daylight deep into the building while preventing glare and heat gain. High levels of thermal insulation, combined with operable skylights, windows, and cooling towers that passively exhaust hot air, eliminate the need for mechanical cooling on all but the hottest days.
The building features cladding made from 100-year-old wine barrels as well as flooring and decking made from salvaged Baltimore Harbor pilings. Rapidly renewable materials include linoleum flooring, agrifiber casework, and bamboo doors. The project team screened all interior finishes for chemical emissions.
The project was able to reduce municipal water use by 90 percent and use 60 percent less energy than a conventional school.
The project has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment and Committee on Architecture for Education, but the building is just the beginning. Teachers at all grade levels have access to the project’s landscape and building systems, and many have designed lessons around this opportunity. The school’s green features will continue to teach and inspire and students will carry their knowledge and appreciation of natural systems for decades to come.
About the Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a coeducational, Quaker day school for children in pre-K through grade 12. Founded in 1883, it has campuses in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Maryland.