Construction Complete on Single Building Campus

Del Sur Elementary's Single Building Design Has Small Footprint, Powerful Punch

 

(San Diego, CA) September 23, 2008 – NTD Architecture is pleased to announce that construction is complete on Del Sur Elementary School of the Poway Unified School District. Designed as a single building campus, Del Sur achieves an energy efficiency of 40.7% better than California's 2005 Title 24 energy code requirements and has exceeded the requisites to become a Collaborative for High Performance School (CHPS) by 44 points (pending final certification).

 

Located within Del Sur’s 1,800 acres, Del Sur Elementary School’s sustainable features are in alignment with the concept of the overall community, which boasts the Ranch House as San Diego’s first LEED Platinum building. The 85,259 SF single building school sits on a 10-acre site and cost $29.5 M to construct. It houses 34 teaching stations and is designed to accommodate a student body of 850. Construction began in April of 2007 and will be completed in August of 2008. Del Sur Elementary School was the recipient of a Coalition for Adequate School Housing Award for Design Excellence in 2006.

 

"We're extremely proud of this design, not only for its substantial energy savings, but also because the campus concept will encourage social interaction among students and teachers," says Richard Nowicki, AIA, Partner of NTD Architecture. “As high performance design becomes requisite in public works, the typology represented by Del Sur is likely to become more common.”

 

The single building typology also adds to the project’s energy efficiency. Reduced exterior wall and roof areas decrease the amount of heating and cooling needed by the school, resulting in lowered energy costs for the District and an improved physical environment for the building's occupants. A 10,000 SF photovoltaic array installed through SDG&E's Sustainable Communities Program will provide approximately 9.4% of the school's energy and an Energy Management System will monitor the use of lighting, equipment, and HVAC systems. Other sustainable features contributing to the school's CHPS designation include a high-efficiency irrigation system with a satellite controller, shared-use of the multipurpose room and athletic field, and a substantially reduced footprint resulting in a higher pervious site area, enhanced classroom acoustics, and high indoor air quality.

 

Del Sur Elementary School leans on the forefront of innovative design and technology. Classrooms are equipped with Audio/Visual systems, including a centralized A/V switching system with stereo amplification, LCD projector, electronic marker board, DVD/VCR, docucams, and Audio Reinforcement Input, ensuring that students will have the tools necessary to prepare them for a future in the 21st Century.

 

A weeklong collaborative planning process initiated in the early stages of the design process determined that stakeholders and community members alike envisioned a school that focused on the community, learning, and energy efficiency. Including district facility members, teachers, faculty, parents, and students in the planning process ensured that goals from across the spectrum were established and realized.

 

The team assigned to Del Sur Elementary includes NTD Architecture for Architecture, MEP Engineering, and Interior Design, Edge Development as the General Contractor, Masson & Associates for Civil Engineering, Johnson Consulting Engineers for Low Voltage/Technology, KNA Consulting Engineers for Structural Engineering, and Nowell & Associates for Landscape Architecture. NTD's Education Funding Services Division assisted the District with obtaining funding for Del Sur from the State of California in the amount of $13,054,447.00.

 

NTD Architecture is dedicated to client satisfaction through process improvement. The award-winning design firm specializes in architecture for healthcare and education facilities and provides integrated services of architecture, engineering, and interior design. NTD office locations include San Diego, Los Angeles, Visalia, Salinas, and Auburn, California, and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Please visit ntd.com to learn more about NTD’s projects and delsurliving.com for the community of Del Sur.

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