Through later phases of design, the team focused on optimizing daylighting strategies using Ecotect and physical daylighting models. In south-facing classrooms, this resulted in the successful integration of solar shades, fixed parabolic light louvers, and sloped ceilings. In the gymnasium, numerous alternative studies indicated that an array of tubular skylights would most effectively provided the uniform glare-free lighting required without significant heat gain. In the pre-kindergarten, north-facing monitors were planned from the earliest phases. Daylighting studies helped the team to determine the requisite monitor size, shape, and throat configuration.
Richard Louv, in his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, argues that a regular and direct connection to nature is essential to the physical and emotional health of our children. The book served, in part, as inspiration for the school’s integration with the forest ecosystem. Once a forest concept was identified, the team contacted an ecologist with the Virginia Department of Forestry. The architect and ecologist walked the site together, creating an inventory of all flora and fauna in the 8-acre Camp Carondelet forest
