P.S. 62 The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)·New York, United States

2015Institutional · Primary and High SchoolsEducational

Year: 2015
Category: Institutional · Primary and High Schools
Type: Educational
Status: Built
Firm: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Location: New York, United States

P.S. 62 The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability is the first net zero energy school in New York City and one of the first of its kind worldwide. The cutting-edge building achieves its net zero energy target by harvesting as much energy from renewable on-site resources as it uses on an annual basis. Located on the south shore of Staten Island, the 444-seat, 68,000-square-foot primary school is designed to comply with the SCA Green Schools Guide, a stringent rating system similar to the U.S.

Green Building Council's LEED certification process and developed specifically for New York City public schools. As the SCA's first sustainability lab, P.S. 62 will also help achieve the OneNYC goals for reduction in global warming emissions. Situated on 3.5 acres, the school is oriented to the center of the L-shaped site in order to optimize natural light for the photovoltaic panels and the interior learning spaces. Thanks to its aggressive approach to sustainability, P.S. 62 achieves a remarkable 50% reduction in energy use over a typical new public school in New York.

The school's many sustainable design features include photovoltaic panels on the building's roofs and south facade, precast rain screens on three facades, skylights and reflective ceiling panels that amplify natural light, a geo-exchange heating and cooling system, energy recovery ventilators and demand-control ventilation, and a solar thermal system for hot water. The set back of the windows on the building's south facades and the vertical relief on the building's exterior reduce thermal heat gain, and also contribute to this impressive energy statistic.

Interactive dashboards displayed throughout the building present real-time data on energy usage and production, allowing for immediate feedback on energy choices and healthy competition between classes and grade levels.