by Brianna Crandall — October 6, 2014—Chico is now home to the newest healthy, high-performance, green school in California. Chico High School was recently recognized as having met the CA-CHPS (California – Collaborative for High Performance Schools) Criteria, a stringent green school building standard.
“CHPS Verified schools bring so many benefits to the people studying and working in them every day,” said Bill Orr, CHPS Executive Director. “The air quality is better. There is more natural light, which boosts mood and promotes productivity. They use less energy, both in the building of the school and ongoing operations. We applaud the Chico Unified School District for their leadership in becoming CA-CHPS Verified.”
The new construction for Chico High School is a 30,000-square-foot infill building incorporating fourteen classrooms, two staff workrooms, three science labs, and special education and adult life skills classes. Designed by DLR Group, the building is a contemporary representation of conditions found on the existing campus: strong horizontal white lines, brick massing, and repetitive storefront glass. DLR Group’s sustainable design approach was achieved by shaping the building to preserve all existing mature trees, north-facing glass emphasis, and natural day-lit classrooms.
Here are just some of the building’s features:
- Daylighting provided throughout the building’s indoor spaces creates a stimulating and productive environment.
- Low-flow water fixtures minimize water consumption.
- White, reflective rooftop coating decreases heat island effect.
- Individual control of classroom heating and cooling maximizes comfort.
- Lifecycle of materials will be considered in the selection of products.
- 50 percent of waste during construction was diverted from landfills.
- Design integrates durable materials with an emphasis on regionally available, low volatile organic compound (VOC)-emitting and recycled materials.
- Outdoor views available from all regularly occupied spaces.
CHPS Verified is a green school building rating program from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools that combines a rigorous state-specific standard for the design and construction of healthy, high performance schools with a complete third-party review of the features to ensure the benefits are delivered. Compliance with the CHPS Verified program demonstrates that a school has met one of the most stringent standards for green school design, says the organization.
