Two Schools Honored by the Connecticut Green Building Council
August 12, 2010
Two educational facilities deigned by Tai Soo Kim Partners
have been honored by the Connecticut Green Building
Council for sustainable design: the Rogers IB School
in Stamford and The Chase Tallwood Math & Technology
Center at the Kingswood Oxford School. These projectss
were among a group of six projects selected in the institutional
category by the Jury.
While the Chase Tallwood Center is registered for LEED
Gold Certification, the Rogers IB School in Stamford has
already received its LEED Silver Certification. Designed
as a 106,000 sq.ft K-6 school on a brownfield site, the
Rogers school is an International Baccalaureate program
with an environmental curriculum theme. To support
curriculum needs, the design features four prominent
elements of sustainability: a large intensive green roof for
educational use; a rain garden demonstrating the natural
filtration of storm water; a rain and stormwater collection
system; and a wind turbine demonstrating 'free energy'.
Kingswood-Oxford School, a private co-educational day school serving 600 students in grades 6-12
launched the design phase for their project with a campus lecture on sustainable design from one of
the movement's early advocates, William McDonough. Rather than gobble up precious central green
space, the design team chose to utilize the space between existing buildings for the 28,000 sq.ft.
facility. The new math and science building was crafted to connect a series of campus buildings into
a functioning unit that serves the entire school. The use of abundant natural light in the interiors and
the reconfiguration of an existing energy system from an adjacent structure all contributed to a significant
reduction in the usage of electricity. The resulting design features an efficient building envelope
and compact footprint, which also enhances the central green and campus architecture.