Environmental Aspects

The Homer Center supports Sacred Heart Schools' educational mission, inspiring respect for creation and teaching eco-literacy by offering a variety of integrated educational environments that connect students and faculty to the natural world on a daily basis. The design encourages scientific inquiry, linking the school's science curriculum to the building's functions throughout the seasons—how it breathes, resists gravity, conserves precious resources and generates energy. It respects the unique character of its place by weaving the new building into the history and culture of the site. It honors the land by preserving and restoring native landscapes, fostering biodiversity and creating new habitats for native species that can be observed by the students.

Through a variety of simple, observable strategies, the project models advanced resource efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction, reducing site energy use by 69% from the national average for schools and exceeding the goal set for the 2030 Challenge. Potable water use is reduced by over 50%, teaching students to value this increasingly precious resource. Finally, the building expresses advanced resource conservation through simple, compact building forms, efficient structural systems, sophisticated composting and waste management programs, and the intensive use of recycled, renewable and regional materials.

 

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