When the Washington State School for the Blind’s new Kennedy Fitness Center opens in February 2009, the Vancouver school will be nearing the end of a 19-year campus renovation.
In that time, the “green” revolution has presented itself, and the school – which was founded in 1886 – made green building practices a priority as early as 1991.
This commitment can be seen in plans for the $9 million Kennedy center.
The former physical fitness center, which is undergoing demolition now, was built in 1963.
“In 1963, it was probably a great building, but people weren’t thinking about seismic issues or energy at that time,” said Superintendent Dean O. Stenehjem.
The one-story, 29,000-square-foot Kennedy Fitness Center will feature a six-lane competition-ready pool, full-size gymnasium, fitness equipment room, mat room, weight room, locker rooms, two classrooms and an office – and be eco-conscious to boot.
“Our two biggest costs are employees and general building operations,” Stenehjem said. “When I’m looking at how to get more dollars directly into programs for kids, I’m looking for a better way to operate buildings and use less energy.”
Going for the green
Building the fitness center from scratch only will cost an estimated 30 percent more than remodeling the old building, and 95 percent of the demolished material won’t be wasted.
Salem-based contractor Corps Inc. Construction, which broke ground on the center in March, took ownership of the old building when it started the demolition and is planning to reuse many of the materials – which it now owns – for future projects.
Metal will go to scrap yards, 1,500 sheets of insulation will fill future Corp Inc. buildings and ground-up concrete will fill the old pool before it’s paved for a parking lot.
Project Manager Sam Lehrbaum is looking forward to using the old gym’s wooden floor boards and roofing in custom homes for Corp Inc.
“You can’t find wood like that anymore,” he said. “It’s beautiful lumber.”
The new building’s undulating roof design, high ceilings and fan system will keep air moving to lower heating and air conditioning use. When the air conditioning system is needed, it will transfer heat from the building into the pool rather than outdoors.
And water in the swimming pool will be sanitized with filters and a system that converts chlorine into sodium. The saline-based pool will be less salty than tears with minimal levels of chlorine, said Clinton Ellinger, a project manager and associate at Portland-based Terra Architecture, which has designed five projects for the school in eight years.
For on-site storm water treatment, Terra is engineering a natural cleaning system. Rain that falls onto pavement will be diverted through a man-made creek into a bio-swale. As water travels slowly through the system, plants will absorb any existing contaminants, such as automobile oil from parking lots.
“By the time the water gets to the end, it’s clean enough to go into the ground,” Ellinger said.
Energy savings will begin with double-paned windows, a vestibule entry and a tighter building envelope overall.
Elsewhere on campus, the school’s Ogden Resource Center features an 8-inch-thick earth roof – possibly the first of its kind in the western United States – that provides insulation and rain water collection while growing sedum grass and strawberries. The Ogden center also boasts one of the region’s largest solar panel systems.
Independence through design
Inside, the Kennedy center will have a few special features for its blind and visually impaired users.
Treadmills will have instructions in Braille, and a light spray from pool walls will warn swimmers when they reach the end of a pool lane. Health and fitness instructor Jennifer Butcher is looking forward to better lighting and walkways, and more accessible doorways.
Otherwise, the Kennedy Fitness Center won’t have many design features specific to the visually impaired – for a reason.
“We want to teach the children how to access a health club so they can go into the community and do the same thing on their own,” Butcher said.
Such practices have worked well for Butcher, who is legally blind and holds two Paralympic bronze medals for swimming. Her program lets students choose daily fitness activities after learning the basics of sports and athletic movement.
“Visually impaired kids don’t want to move – they’re afraid to move,” Butcher said. “We hold their hand at the very beginning and by the time they leave, they should be able to go to the YMCA and do their own workout.”
That approach makes it easy for the facility to accommodate outside groups. Butcher said students often exercise with school staff, Vancouver Police officers and other community members.
The school serves an average of 70 blind and visually impaired students who live on-site and attend daily classes. The campus also hosts visitors at its Braille production center and library, music hall, auditorium and physical fitness center.
“We turn in to a YMCA at 4 p.m. on Fridays,” Stenehjem said. “These are public facilities, taxpayers pay for them, and they should not be empty.”
Strong savings
The facility is expected to earn a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.
In 2005, Washington created a law requiring construction projects funded in the capital budget be built and certified to green standards. The law requires a minimum of silver certification, the second level on LEED’s four-tiered system.
Those requirements make it easier for Washington’s building industry to move forward with green building initiatives, Ellinger said.
While green practices can pay for themselves over time, up-front LEED certification costs can be hefty. The documentation process, inspection and some direct costs associated with certification of the new fitness center will cost at least $70,000, Ellinger said.
The Ogden Resource Center, which houses the state’s Braille learning materials library and printing center, was designed to fetch a silver LEED certification when it opened in 2005, but the school chose to forego the certification costs.
But after the fitness center opens, the school expects the payoff from green features to be big.
Upon completion, energy bills are projected to drop at least a third, if not a half, Stenehjem said.
A 2004 benefit life cycle cost analysis estimated energy savings associated with the new facility would reach $12 million in 50 years, said facilities manager Rob Tracey.
“These numbers were the real impetus for pushing for a new building,” he said.
The campus’ two solar panel systems already draw a bit of cash into the school – solar energy will bring in about $3,500 from the public utilities district in 2008. Another $2,000 will come from the state’s green energy initiative, and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation will pay about $300 for annual energy contributions, Tracey said.
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
