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Sustainable Design Case Study
- 1. SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CASE STUDY IN GENUINE STONE - Willow School in New Jersey - Jefferson Hall West Point Library in New York 1
- 2. The Willow School ProjectType: Independent K-8 Day School Location: Gladstone, New Jersey, USA Architect: Ford Farewell Mills & Gatsch, Architects, LLC Construction: Phase I – 2003 Rating: LEED Gold Front entrance of The Willow School
- 3. The Willow School Foundation and Goals for the School > Sustainability > Whole Systems Integration > Energy savings was important, as well as the creation of a healthy indoor environment that feels good to students and faculty > A firm belief among the project team: “The building should resonate with our human biology, evolutionary experience and reflect an understanding of ecological process and teach us that we are connected to the larger community of life.” Top: Recycled stone and wood beams; 3 Bottom: Native planting
- 4. The Willow School Foundationand Goals for the School •Establishing a Sense of Place -the history of the local area included stone quarryng •Defining a 150-year Life Cycle 4 The surrounding site and its connection to place
- 5. The Willow School Foundationand Goals for the School • Regional Vernacular Response to the Environment • Integrated Curriculum • Regenerative Approach – a process where humans participate with nature so that both human and natural systems can grow and co-evolve together • Highly Collaborative Process – including all stakeholders who may affect or be effected by the project and ensuring that they are involved early in the process Top: Recycled metal roofing 5 Bottom: Salvaged timber framing
- 6. The Willow School AProcess that Supported the Use of Local, Recycled Stone > Experience in salvaging old barns > A good barn may yield 400-500 tons of stone > Stone supplier, Wood Natural Restoration > Worked closely with local building officials since much of this was new to the officials > Local Amish mason from Gladstone, New Jersey, provided the stone construction 6 Constructing with recycled stone
- 7. The Willow School StoneDetails Classrooms used the remains of two barns and a house from Eastern Pennsylvania dating to the 19th century. • 75% hand-cut limestone Old Stone originally not mortared together; cracks were filled with mix of clay and lime. Wood framing could be removed, walls toppled over, and stone simply washed with water. Other recycled stonework included: • Bluestone flagstones disturbed from their original site by Boston’s Big Dig • Granite curbing from an interstate exchange in Connecticut Stone transitions easily and naturally from 7 the building’s interior to exterior
Editor's Notes
- #2 To demonstrate that the concepts that we have just shared are able to be applied to a project, we will now discuss a few case studies.
- #3 OverviewThe Willow School, in Gladstone, New Jersey is a small independent coeducational day school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is committed to combining academic excellence with the joy of learning and to experiencing the wonder of the natural world. The Willow School was the second independent school in the U.S. to receive a LEED Gold rating. An integrated curriculum focusing on nature helps students comprehend the pattern of how everything in nature is connected. This includes the beliefs that:Environmental issues are complex and cannot be understood through a single discipline or department.Education occurs in part as a dialogue with a place.The school is dedicated to maintaining an environment where respect for the individual, an outstanding faculty, and an understanding of place foster independent thinking, creativity, responsibility, and integrity. Rating: Second independent school in the U.S. to receive LEED Gold Innovative design includes: recyclable and renewable building materialsrainwater harvesting daylight harvestingnative grasses and perennialson-site photovoltaic electrical generationconstructed storm water and wastewater wetlands
- #4 Establishing the Foundation and Goals for the SchoolMark Biedron, founder and contractor of the school, drew upon experience from his own businesses in low VOC paints and salvaging old barns when he conceived of a unique school that included sustainability and whole systems integration among its driving principles.A firm belief among the project team was that “The building should resonate with our human biology, evolutionary experience and reflect an understanding of ecological process and teach us that we are connected to the larger community of life.”SustainabilityWhile energy savings was important, so too was ensuring that the students and faculty feel good in the building, and for the building to have a healthy indoor environment. Upon Mark receiving his own LEED accreditation the school founders expanded their goals to also include sustainability.
- #5 Establishing the Foundation and Goals for the SchoolEstablishing a Sense of PlaceAn intense Sense of Place Study of the local environment by specialists, members of the community, and students became the cornerstone of the project. It was viewed as “the backbone of a drastically revised method of study, in which every aspect of the sciences and the arts is ecologically related from the bottom up, in which they connect directly and constantly in the student’s experience of his region and his community.”The history of the area included stone quarrying. Thus, local stone contributed to the sense of place and the architecture of the region. Defining the Life CycleThe school was designed for a 150-year life cycle. This goal also supported the use of natural stone in the project
- #6 Foundation & Goals for the ProjectRegional Vernacular Response to the EnvironmentIntegrated CurriculumRegenerative Approach (a process where humans participate with nature so that both human and natural systems can grow and co-evolve together)Highly Collaborative Process (including all stakeholders who may affect or be effected by the project and ensuring they are involved at specific points early in the process)
- #7 Mark Biedron’s experience in salvaging old barns made it very easy to locate sources of local stone for recycling into the project. Mark was referred to the stone supplier, Wood Natural Restoration, a company that has been in the business of salvaging antique buildings since the 1970s. Natural stone is one of their specialties. They were able to identify stone from two barns and a house on a property that was ready to be developed for housing. A good barn may yield 400-500 tons of stone.Working closely withthe local building officials was essential since much of what they were trying to do was new to the officials. A local Amish mason from Gladstone, New Jersey, was identified and selected to provide the stone construction.
- #8 Stone DetailsThe classrooms used the remains of two barns and a house from Eastern Pennsylvania dating to the 19th century. 75% hand-cut limestone 25% sandstone mixtureThe original old stone from the barns and a house in the area was not mortared together. Instead, people used a mix of clay and lime to fill the cracks where it didn’t join perfectly. The stone salvage company could remove the wood framing parts, push the walls over and then pick up the blocks of stone for recycling into the school design. Cleanup of the salvaged stone involved only washing with water, since the old patina is considered desirable to the stone company’s customers. Other recycled stonework included: Bluestone flagstones disturbed from their original site by Boston’s Big DigGranite curbing from an interstate exchange in Connecticut