02/19/2018

KCBA Architects congratulates Southern Lehigh School District on the announcement that the new Hopewell Elementary School has been granted LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council. Opened for the 2016-2017 school year, the new 58,500 sq. ft. facility houses 500 students in grades K-3.

As the project architect, KCBA worked closely with all members of the project team to achieve the school district’s educational and operational goals while also delivering a highly efficient and sustainable new campus. In addition to school district leadership, key contributors to this effort included D’Huy Engineering, the resident project engineer; Snyder Hoffman Associates, the mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineer; Barry Isett & Associates, the civil engineer; and The Stone House Group, sustainability consultant.

The building features a number of high performance strategies that contributed to the LEED certification and also offer educational opportunities for students. These include a ground-mounted solar array to supplement the electric supply, a geothermal mechanical system, a high albedo roof system to reduce the heat island effect, LED lighting with occupancy sensors in learning spaces, and low flow plumbing fixtures. Best practices were also implemented during the construction process as over 80% of construction waste was recycled and diverted from landfills.