Darien, IL, March 13, 2006--Southwest suburban Bolingbrook High School (BHS), in Valley View School District 365U, recently became the first public school in the state--and third high school nationwide--to be become LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. BHS, which opened in 2004, was designed and constructed by Wight & Company according to LEED principles and criteria for environmentally friendly sustainable design.
"This is a tremendous honor for the entire community," said Dr. Phillip Schoffstall, superintendent of the Valley View School District. "We not only are providing our students with a first-class learning environment conducive to high quality education, but also are contributing to the enhancement of our shared living environment."
"Bolingbrook High School epitomizes the environmental, aesthetic and economic benefits of 'green' design and construction," said Ray Prokop, vice president of Wight Construction and director for this and other Valley View projects. "District administrators also should be applauded for recognizing the cost effectiveness of sustainable design."
Examples of LEED-driven strategies that resulted in "savings of the green" included:
--70 percent of the building materials were manufactured within 500 miles of the site eliminating the need for long-distance transportation costs.
--4708 tons or 62% of all site-generated construction waste was recycled rather than sent to landfills.
-- At least 75 percent of the value of the specified building materials contained recycled content, including its structural steel, ceiling and floor tiles, acoustical panels, carpet, sports flooring and building insulation.
--By taking advantage of a challenging, sloped site any earth moved stayed at the site, which eliminated the cost of transporting it to a landfill.
-- Sophisticated lighting controls combined with a design that optimized the use of natural light is targeted to reduce energy consumption and operating costs by 25 to 30 percent. As an added benefit, natural lighting (90 percent of the classrooms have outside views) has been scientifically proven to enhance students' ability to learn.
-- Bolingbrook High School is projected to save 360,000 gallons of water each year by collecting and re-using condensation from the air handling system instead of letting it go down the drain.
-- An Energy Star white PVC roof with high reflectance reduces the heat islands that can cause the temperature of surrounding areas to increase by 10 degrees. Fewer heat islands mean lower energy costs.
Some of the high school's other environmentally friendly design features include:
-- Bio-swales and detention basins with deep-rooted wetland and native plantings encourage groundwater filtration and slow down rainwater runoff. By slowing the discharge rate into Lily Cache Creek, sedimentation is allowed to settle out, which protects the creek and adjacent wetlands from additional sediment and impurities.
-- Bolingbrook High School built its own well to irrigate its playing fields, minimize runoff into the sewer system and lessen the burden on the municipal water system.
"Our intent--and a major goal of sustainable design--is to minimize the negative impact of the building on the environment and people who inhabit them," said Lois Vitt Sale, Wight & Company's sustainable design principal for the project and board president of the Chicago Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. "Bolingbrook High School now has a high level of indoor air quality, efficient operations of its buildings systems, reduced energy and water consumption and abundant natural light."
