ASHRAE Technology Awards: Net Zero-Ready School

Valley View Middle School in Snohomish, Wash., is a new three-story, 168,000 ft2 (15 600 m2) facility that replaced a much smaller and outdated building. Mirroring the district's commitment to resource conservation, the design team used the Living Building Challenge as a guide for defining its sustainable approach. The team strategized on harnessing the greatest contributors to resource conservation: renewable energy sources to be implemented; capturing and reusing emitted energy to offset draw from the grid; reducing consumption through system selection; and supporting behavioral changes inspired through monitoring and reporting.

Citation: ASHRAE Journal, vol. 57, no. 5, May 2015