Photo
by Howard Levy |
Baker
Center/Punta Gorda, Florida
USGBC
LEED® Certified
Architects
Parker/Mudgett/Smith Architects//Ft. Myers, Florida
Owner
Charlotte County Board of Education/Punta Gorda, Florida
Size/Cost
52,000 sf/$12.4 million
TLC Services
MEP/FP/S/CT/Commissioning
As
the home of Charlotte County’s Head Start and Early
Head Start programs, it’s only fitting that the new
Baker Center was the first public school (Pre-K) in Florida
to achieve U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification.
The school is a model of sustainability with high efficiency
chillers and air handlers, low-flow toilets, motion-activated
lights, and indirect lighting. Ceiling and vinyl floor
tiles, carpeting, and the filters used for heating, ventilation
and air conditioning are all made of recyclable and renewable
products. The engineered systems and equipment are designed
to produce a 41.5% savings in water use, roughly 115,900
gallons per year, and be 17.8% more energy efficient,
for an annual savings of $15,700. Other sustainable design
features include:
• The new one-story school building was constructed
on the same site as the original Baker Center.
• All of the wood products used in construction were
from tree farms, not forests.
• Tinted windows let in the sunlight while keeping
interior spaces cool.
• No potable water is used for landscape irrigation.
• 98.5% of the construction waste was diverted from
landfills.
• Energy savings of 3,078 Mbtu yearly.
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