American Canyon High School - December 2011 aerial
*Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)
QKArchiblog >
Posts Tagged ‘Sustainable Design’
America’s Greenest High School
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011American Canyon High School Goes Solar!
Friday, November 18th, 2011
“Through the great partnership with Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD) and QKA, this system will provide long term financial savings and hands-on learning for the students about the positive impact of solar power,” said Chris Robine, CEO and President of SPG Solar.
The over 4,000 American-made solar panels, mounted on the school’s roof and on a fixed-tilt ground mount system, will produce over 1.1 million kilowatt hours annually, equivalent to providing power to over 105 average American homes annually.
American Canyon High School has been certified by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) – a green building rating system for K-12 school, similar to LEED for Schools. American Canyon High School is the highest ranking CHPS verified school in California.
“The new solar power system at American Canyon High School is an excellent example of NVUSD’s leadership. By building upon the sustainable design of their campus and showing their commitment to the environment the District will save a significant amount of money that can now be used for educational purposes,” said Aaron Jobson, Principal at Quattrocchi Kwok Architects.
At the ribbon cutting celebration Wednesday November 16th, Bill Orr, Executive Director of CHPS was on hand to present the CHPS verified plaque to Principal Mark Brewer and Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney. In honor of this green building certification, Melissa Rodezno, an aide to Congressman Mike Thompson, presented the District with a Congressional Recognition certificate.
Solar Project Receives Gold Resolution
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
State Superintendent at Aragon High School
Monday, September 26th, 2011
State Superintendent Tom Torlakson announced the recommendations of his Schools of the Future Team at a ceremony to dedicate a 3.72-megawatt solar power system installed at QKA project; Aragon High School and the five other campuses in the San Mateo Union High School District. QKA’s work includes the design and installation of solar PVs at each of these campuses and Mark Quattrocchi was on hand to deliver a few remarks at the dedication this morning. Read the media coverage here.
American Canyon High School featured in The Architect’s Newspaper
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
American Canyon High School, American Canyon, CA
“The kids may be out of the classroom for the summer, but school design is definitely in session. Lydia Lee studies how public and private schools are investing in ultra high-performance buildings that provide better learning environments and teach by example.”
American Canyon High School – A Case-Study and Tour in Sustainability, Community and Education
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
QKA’s Aaron Jobson will be leading a tour of American Canyon High School on Wednesday June 29, 2011 from 5:30-7:30pm. Here’s the info (scroll to bottom for sign-up link):
Join your local chapter of the US Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects in celebrating the green design, engineering and community asset that is American Canyon High School.
This Napa County High School opened its doors in Fall of 2010 to welcome students and community to an ultra-sustainable and energy efficient campus. The campus achieved Gold certification in the US Green Building’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program.
The project boasts a 1MW photovoltaic station that provides about 85% of the electricity needed for the campus and a ground source heat pump that uses the earth’s temperature to help heat and cool buildings.
Did you know that the average school is 42 years old, and energy inefficiencies cost it approximately $100,000 a year? Come hear from Aaron Jobson of Santa Rosa’s Quattrocchi Kwok Architects and Costa Engineer’s Chris DelCore, plus others directly involved in this top project as they share how the building and design increased efficiencies, while creating a sense of community, supported career-driven education, and improved public access to amenities on the campus.
Best Green Projects: Case Studies in Sustainable Design Success
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
QKA Principal Aaron Jobson will be a speaker in this webinar tomorrow. Here are the details:
WHO:
GRAPHISOFT, the leader in Building Information Modeling (BIM) software
WHAT:
Best Green Projects: Case Studies in Sustainable Design Success, a webinar hosted by Architectural Record and GreenSource, and sponsored by GRAPHISOFT. AIA members will receive continuing education credit.
WHEN:
May 19, 2011 from 2 to 3 p.m. EDT
FOCUS:
Learn how fellow architects develop and deploy best practices in sustainable design. Three architects with diverse and interesting green projects in North America will present their projects of distinct scales, illustrating best practices in achieving high performance design with exceptional aesthetic standards. Topics to be discussed include material and technology choices; energy-saving strategies; balancing aesthetics with performance; meeting and managing client expectations; attaining an eco-friendly building within schedule and budget, outcomes from utilizing BIM, and post-occupancy lessons learned.
GreenSource’s Managing Editor Jane Kolleeny will host the event.
GRAPHISOFT Director of Virtual Design and Construction, Kurt Ameringer, will kick it off and introduce the panelists.
Bob Miklos, Founder of designLAB architects, Inc. will discuss his IFAW World Headquarters project and his pragmatic approach to environmentalism.
Aaron Jobson, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Quattrocchi Kwok Architects will talk about American Canyon High School, and the importance of BIM in sustainable design.
Bradley Khouri, AIA, Principal & Founder, b9 architects, Inc. will highlight his “Urban Canyon” residential design and the use of reclaimed materials.
Solar in San Mateo
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
QKA is working with San Mateo Union High School District to install photovoltaic (PV) systems at six of its high school campuses (Hillsdale High School featured above). The PV systems totalling 3.6 megawatts, will help the District lower it’s $1.1 million annual electricity bill.
This project was the cover story in Western Roofing magazine’s Nov./Dec.2010 issue. QKA Project Architect Nick Stephenson’s quote from the article says it best—”For QKA, it is gratifying to work on a project where the commitment to solar energy is the centerpiece.”
Raising Ross School
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
-
- Before – Flood Conditions
-
- After
Ross School is one of the most unique projects in our firm’s 25 year history. We secured an unprecedented $1 million in FEMA funding to lift a portion of the school four feet out of the flood plain. As the final phase of our work at Ross continues, here is a visual preview of what we’ve recently completed.
Teaching Tool – Photovoltaic Monitoring at Mendocino K-8
Thursday, September 16th, 2010This web based K-8 Photovoltaic monitoring system is a remarkable display that shows current and historic PV panel output for the school. The display translates the energy production to its environmental benefits–a real time teachable moment for students. Since this is web based it can be displayed anywhere on campus.