Washington became the first state in the country Friday to enact a law requiring public buildings to be constructed with standards encouraging energy conservation and recycling.
Such standards eventually could reduce public agencies’ energy costs by 25 percent. Better design and ventilation also are predicted to reduce school and workplace sicknesses because of artificial ventilation and raise test scores among students.
Gov. Christine Gregoire signed the historic bill into law at Washington Middle School in Olympia, which will be among the first buildings in the state to incorporate the “green” standards.
There are 72 such environmentally friendly projects in various stages of construction across Washington, state officials said Friday. The new law applies to most buildings owned by the state, state agencies and public school districts, as well as major projects that receive state capital funds.
“This middle school is a model for the rest of the state and the nation about how we can be good environmental stewards,” Gregoire told Washington Middle School students before signing the bill. “Your school is leading the way, and you should be proud of that. ”
The $17 million Washington Middle School renovation project begins in June and should be completed by July 2006.
The school’s roughly 700 students will move out of the building during the 2005-06 school year.
Incoming sixth-graders will go to a new educational wing at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, less than a half-mile from the middle school. Seventh- and eighth-graders will go to the old John Rogers Elementary School, about 41/2 miles away.
The project’s green elements include:
– Reducing water usage through waterless urinals and energy-conserving fixtures, and by harvesting rain for use in flush toilets.
– Designing the building so natural ventilation is optimized. Operable windows, natural ventilation louvers and assistance fans will be used in classrooms rather than conventional air conditioning.
– Reducing artificial lighting by installing daylight photo sensors that determine when lights need to be on. Currently, the school is rather dark, particularly in the halls. The new design also will include more natural light.
During the 2003-04 school year, Washington Middle School used 500,000 gallons of water. Its new fixtures, the waterless urinals and the harvested rain should save the school an estimated 358,000 gallons of water per year, according to the project’s architects, Mahlum Architects of Seattle.
Green schools also could see as much as a 26 percent spike in student test scores, state officials said. Increased natural lighting and natural ventilation should help keep students alert all day and make them less likely to get sick, officials said.
“If somehow a building could raise test scores, that would be cool,” said Ian Lindgren, a 13-year-old Washington Middle School eighth-grader.
The new law should spread the use of green construction across the state, said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish. As architects become comfortable with the design techniques, they’ll encourage non-state clients to pursue them as well.
“This is a growth industry,” said Dunshee, one of the bill’s sponsors and chairman of the House Capital Budget Committee.
Several Washington Middle School students said they were excited to learn that their school will be among the first in the state to abide by the new law.
“It’s a good start so that this can happen throughout the whole country,” said Laura Anderson, a 14-year-old Washington Middle School eighth-grader. “I think it’s important so that our future generations can have a healthy environment like we do. ”
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