Colors line the halls in new ‘green’ high school

Ceilings slope. Skylights usher in the sun’s rays. Colored concrete walls reduce the noise of a thousand students to a whisper.

Without question, the new Falcon High School boasts the amenities of a modern building — especially when compared with its predecessor.

“They left a cave and came out into a bright, state-of-theart building,” said Jim Walsh, construction manager of the 176,000-square foot school.

But new Falcon High School didn’t smell new when students moved in midsemester.

The absence of formaldehyde gases and odors from laminates, carpets, vinyl, wall materials and new furniture was because of a concerted effort to ensure the $38.7 million project remained “green” from start to finish.

Planners used linoleum flooring, which is natural and can last 50 years, and multicolored carpets made from recycled carpets. Those low-emitting materials improve indoor air quality, as does the building’s additional ventilation.

“You think about green — we’re looking at the air quality for people who are there: the faculty who are there for generations, the students who are there just a few years and the visitors who are there,” said Henry Reitwiesner, director of planning and construction for Falcon School District 49.

Concrete insulated panels — with yellow, green, blue and red poured into some — were used for walls.

The sustainable architecture should pay for itself quickly — the walls and the building’s exterior won’t need to be repainted, for example — and that should make voters feel good about the school’s funding, Reitwiesner said. The initial concept design began in 2003, followed by passage of the bond election in 2005. Falcon received a $20,000 grant from the governor’s office that helped pay for the engineering and designing. Construction started in summer 2006.

The environmentally friendly and energy efficient design went beyond the walls and floors. Each waterless urinal in the school can save up to 45,000 gallons of water per year.

And when the temperatures climb, the school has a unique way of staying cool. Large blocks of ice are formed overnight outside and then used to help cool the building during the day without running the air conditioner as much.

The school’s fresh look caught the attention of junior Cherise Frazier, 16, when she arrived. “I thought, ‘It’s really bright in here,’” she said. “It’s cool how the light reflects off the walls.”

Research has shown that improved lighting enhances a learning environment, increasing productivity and even improving test scores, Reitwiesner said. Nearly every room in Falcon High School receives natural light, and the design of ceilings and shelves helps reflect that light where it is needed.

Energy costs are further reduced by a lighting system that responds to sensors, switching on and off when someone enters or leaves a room and dimming based on the sun’s strength.

Other local schools have used or plan to implement practices that conserve energy. The new Christa McAuliffe and Freedom elementary schools in Colorado Springs School District 11 received Environmental Protection Agency recognition for being among the most energy efficient school designs in the nation.

Lewis-Palmer School District 38’s new high school will have geothermal heating, which cuts energy use by using the Earth’s constant temperature of 55 degrees to heat and cool the building.

D-49’s next high school — Vista Ridge, being built at 6888 Black Forest Road — will also be green.

And the district is recycling the old high school, built in 1976. It opened Tuesday as Falcon Middle School.

While it’s true that many rooms in the new middle school have no windows, there are “way more” than the old building, which had almost none, Walsh said.

He said that they’d like to make the building more green but that for now there is no time or money for changes.

Falcon has applied to receive a solid silver building rating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environment Design program. LEED awards point to sites for adhering to guidelines. Falcon earned points before its foundation was laid as contractors used biodiesel machines to move the earth, and a required amount of materials was purchased within 500 miles of the site.

“At first, contractors said, ‘Oh, no, what are you doing?’” Walsh said. “They were all really fearful of it . . . this treehugger stuff.”

Falcon earned LEED points for installing preferred parking spots reserved for alternative-fuel vehicles. Though students and staff aren’t driving Toyota Priuses to school yet, the visibility of those features for future generations is what this “green stuff” is all about, Walsh said.

“This is the right opportunity — kids seeing this, the community seeing this,” Reitwiesner said. “This is the right thing for the community to build energy efficient schools.

“It’s better for us. This is the culture shift we’re instilling upon these students.”