RDS Middle School Buildings Earn Energy Efficiency Award

(Oakland, CA)– Redwood Day School’s new Middle School buildings have been awarded a 2008 Savings By Design Energy Efficiency Integration Citation by the American Institute of Architects California Council (AIACC). The school is one of seven nonresidential organizations cited for their achievement in combining architectural elegance with sustainability and energy efficiency. Every year, the recognition program, sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric®, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company and Sacramento Municipal Utility District, in conjunction with The American Institute of Architects, California Council (AIACC), acknowledges the extra time and effort it takes to successfully integrate architectural excellence and energy efficiency. Redwood Day School’s project was constructed with careful consideration of its location – optimizing space while protecting all existing redwood trees on the site. The buildings were completed in just six months and consist of two sixth-grade classrooms for Humanities and Math/Sciences, and a multi-purpose room. The latter features dividable space for activities and a glass wall that opens directly to the school’s redwood grove, providing a near seamless transition between the interior and exterior spaces, taking the greatest advantage of the mild Bay Area climate. “Our goal as architects,” says design architect Megan Riera of Mitchell & Riera Architects, LLP, “was to see if we could take an economical pre-fabricated metal building system – a construction technique typical for ‘non-designed’ buildings such as warehouses – and utilize this form for a school building where design needs are more demanding. Flexibility of use was critical.” An estimated 75 percent less waste was generated during construction compared to similar projects, according to the jurors of the 2008 Savings By Design Award team.