When Arlington Public Schools (APS) in Virginia approached Charlottesville firm VMDO Architects to build a new elementary school for its expanding student population, the goal was a place “that integrated learning with sustainability,” recalls John C. Chadwick, the district’s assistant superintendent of facilities and operations.
VMDO’s design produced an innovative teaching environment, which not only integrates sustainability into the curriculum but also offers the school’s 650 pre-K through 5th-grade students lively, interactive learning and play spaces. The Discovery Elementary School, which opened in 2015, is the largest net-zero-energy school in the country. This year it was the recipient of the AIA Committee on the Environment’s Top Ten award, and designated a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.
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