2008 Sustainable Design

Turtle Mountain School

The Turtle Mountain High School is sited on the existing Turtle Mountain Community School Campus in Belcourt, North Dakota. The project was sited to make maximum use of existing access roads serving the adjacent school facilities. From the beginning, the school district identified the benefits of using the U. S. Green Building Council’s LEED guidance to reach some sustainability goals for their new school building. The project has a goal of “Silver” rating and when complete, will be the first LEED Certified building in North Dakota. The design team focused on LEED points generated from energy performance, day lighting, views, and recycled/local materials. The backbone of any project is the building envelope. Architectural precast concrete was selected to provide attractive aesthetics, long life, low maintenance, and low air infiltration. Using 4 inches of polyurethane insulation sandwiched between the concrete envelope, a very efficient R-23 wall is attainable. The layout orients the classrooms for maximum daylight with north and south facing windows. The window glazing was specified to require thermally broken Low E capabilities to reduce energy losses. Glazings with an increased shading coefficient at south facing windows in combination with external sunshades reduce solar gain to meet LEED strategies. LEED Certification strategies provide for usage of recycled content and local production of building materials. The project provided for a total of 10% recycled materials including extensive use of flyash in concrete mixes. For regional content goals, 80% of construction materials were harvested within 500 miles of the project site, and 100% of products were manufactured within the 500 mile limit. Other building components which address sustainability goals include a white colored roof system with the potential to reduce urban heat island effects. A two story format was used to minimize the building footprint, reduce exterior surface area, and to make mechanical systems more efficient. Shrubs and plants used for landscaping were of a type native to the area for minimal maintenance and water demand.

Owner: Turtle Mountain Community Schools, School Dist. No. 7
Architect: KKE Architects	Sustainable Structural Engineer: Ericksen Roed and Associates, Inc.
Landscape Arch/Civil Engineer: Loucks Associates	Design Contractor: Comstock Construction, Inc.
Other Contributors: Dunham & Associates, Interstate Engineering