How many students understand how their school’s design saves energy or think about the building’s energy source? Do they know where the rain goes once it hits the roof or the parking lot and why that matters? Do they reflect on why the school's layout allows for maximum daylight in classrooms and how that affects their ability to learn? Imagine how understanding the purpose behind these design details can contribute to a student’s education and global perspective.
Since our founding, responsible design has been central to all our work. This is embraced in our educational practice by emphasizing sustainability from an environmental and cost perspective and focusing on how our designs can enhance the learning environment. Long before green rating systems came into play, GWWO has been designing schools that become teaching tools for students. Today, this philosophy provides an additional benefit by helping school districts achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification through a LEED Innovation credit called the School as a Teaching Tool. This credit intends to integrate a school facility's sustainable features with the school’s educational mission. Projects can achieve this credit by incorporating the school’s sustainable features within the students’ curriculum, installing signage around the school that highlights these features, and providing visible energy usage information to the students, staff, and visitors. GWWO has incorporated these strategies on many school projects that have successfully achieved the School as a Teaching Tool credit.
