Environmental quality and energy efficiency: Sustainable school buildings design strategies

Abstract

The design and construction qualities of buildings play a key role in limiting energy consumption, while ensuring proper comfort conditions. The existing school buildings stock is mainly characterized by a low level of architectural quality and of performance leading to a high consumption of energy and to an indoor microclimate below comfort level. School buildings play a dual role: on one hand, they have to ensure adequate technical and morphological standards to all spaces used by the students, and on the other, they have to effectively communicate the criteria of sustainable design that have been used for their construction. This paper proposes some innovative case studies projects, highlighting criteria, and strategies adopted in the design for spaces dedicated to children. The aim is to promote sustainable design and construction strategies that combine high levels of energy efficiency, performance standards, and environmental indoor quality, including innovative strategies to integrate the building and its related systems. Best practices can also effectively encourage experimentations and contribute to formulate sustainable construction strategies that should be widely adopted. © 2013 WIT Press.