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Making the Case for Energy Efficiency

Heidi Warstler — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 14:00:35 +0000

Photo: The LPA study shows how much energy performance can be gained with smart, passive design strategies. | Photo Credit (all): LPA��

A cost-benefit analysis examines a tiered approach to energy investments that can save schools significant money on annual operating expenses��

By Kate Mraw��

The realities of funding school construction make it difficult for districts to weigh the short- and long-term benefits of moving their campuses to cleaner, healthier, more energy-efficient environments. Are energy-efficient strategies cost-prohibitive? The Sustainability & Applied Research team at LPA Design Studios recently worked with in-house designers and engineers, and partner Joeris General Contractors, to explore the cost-benefit analysis of energy-efficient schools.��

For our case study, we chose a recently completed elementary school in Dallas, Texas — where increasingly severe weather and problems with the electrical grid have upset the status quo of cheap energy and light regulation. As school districts in every state struggle to stretch budgets amid historic political and economic uncertainty, the team looked for opportunities to save money through sustainable design.��

Our goal was to understand what it would take to achieve energy independence. We want to be able to have a smart, informed conversation with our clients about up-front costs, return-on-investment and potential savings in annual operational costs.��

Starting with a data-rich digital model of the school, the team studied three tiers of additional energy-efficiency investment and their associated costs and energy savings. Tier 1 studied only passive strategies—design elements like demand-control ventilation and increased roof insulation that reduce energy use with little to no added cost. Tier 2 looked at alternative HVAC systems — options for a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system and heat pumps — to eliminate natural gas. The third-and-final tier provided multiple options for reaching net-zero energy use by adding on-site energy generation infrastructure.��

The study shows just how much energy performance can be gained for free, simply with smart, passive design strategies; investing in modern, marginally more expensive HVAC tech; how quickly a net-zero energy school might pay for itself and start producing free energy.��

The Results��

The results illustrate the significant operational savings available from creating more-energy-efficient buildings. Starting with a passive-only approach, the estimated annual energy cost was $65,000. The optimized HVAC system cut that number by 40% at the up-front cost of $250,000.��

Going a step further, adding PV on the roof would cost an additional $570,000 but would reduce the energy costs to less than $10,000 a year, an 85% savings. To eliminate the electricity bills altogether, the school would need a total cost premium investment of around $1 million. Each of these scenarios would result in a simple payback of 14 to 16 years — potentially much less if energy prices increase, as expected.��

The numbers reveal a variety of ways to address energy efficiency, from reevaluating so-called ‘best practices’ to full energy independence. What’s clear is that a high-performing school building is not one-size-fits-all. The point is to give school districts what they need to make informed decisions with their budgets. The return might take 15 years, but over a life span of 50 to100 years, it adds up to a lot of free energy.��

Beyond operational savings, the analysis didn’t include the intangible benefits found in energy-independent facilities. Energy strategies can play an important role in developing more resilient campuses, able to function no matter what happens to the grid. Texas energy and electricity customers experience the third-highest rate of power outages in the country, with almost 20 hours of outages in 2021, according to the most recent US Energy Information Administration data.��

More sustainable schools are also, by nature, healthier schools. Campuses with natural daylight, reduced energy demand and no fossil fuel combustion save energy and promote a district’s well-being goals. They also serve as teaching tools, putting engineering and conservation on display on a daily basis.��

The data reinforces the importance of including sustainability in the initial planning process, when energy efficiency can be integrated into the design process and tied to the district’s larger goals. In a recent $370 million bond measure, Alamo Heights ISD included funds for “efficiency and sustainability,” earmarking dollars to address more-efficient energy-saving systems.��

By taking a tiered approach to the initial analysis, districts can find a comfort level that fits their budget and the priorities of their community. Districts can test the waters, see the savings and incorporate more strategies into future projects.��

While on first review, the systems may seem cost prohibitive, the real-world data illustrates an attractive return on investment. Buildings are a one-time expense that, if designed right, create value that can pay off for decades. For cash-poor districts overwhelmed by the maintenance and operation of obsolete, energy-hungry schools, capital improvement dollars provide a unique opportunity to get ahead. The way is clear: prioritizing energy efficiency spending at the right time frees up money later for the education and program expenses that make a real difference for students.��

Kate Mraw is the director of K-12 at LPA Design Studios, founder of the firm’s Sustainability & Applied Research team and co-author of “Creating the Regenerative School” (ORO Editions, 2024).��

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Texas Middle School Taking Flight at Former Airport Site

School News — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 11:31:09 +0000

By Eric Althoff

AUSTIN, Texas—Architect LPA has designed a three-story middle school for students in Austin’s northeastern side as well as in the adjacent city of Mueller. The school, which will be under the umbrella of the Austin Independent School District, will be situated on the site of Mueller’s now-defunct airport as part of a multiphase redevelopment plan for the 10-acre site. The reimagining is called the Mueller Development.

The campus will be home to nearly a thousand students in what LPA has envisioned as a flexible learning space so that education can take place anywhere, not merely inside a classroom. Accordingly, the architectural design offers collaborative breakout rooms, technology-supported spaces as well as “activated” outdoor spaces.

The 130,000-square-foot campus will sit on the former airport’s runway. It will be built up to LEED Gold standards, with roofs that can readily be set up for solar powering and environmentally friendly materials throughout the campus. Recycled water will be utilized to irrigate the grounds as well.

On the exterior, a streamlined courtyard will join together the various learning and activity environments as a “central park” of social areas. The campus is meant to blend seamlessly into the Mueller community itself thanks to bike lanes and sidewalks. Thus the campus will be an asset not just for the students and staff but also for the surrounding community, with people nearby allowed to use the campus’s library, dining commons, gymnasium, roof deck and track field.

To maintain the connection with the site’s former iteration as an airport, the gymnasium is being designed to look like an aircraft hangar. Furthermore, signage to assist with campus wayfinding will feature aerial motifs.

“LPA and Joeris General Contractors worked together through the integrated design-build delivery method to ensure that AISD’s priorities across stakeholders were balanced in the design,” Drew Johnson, director of bond planning and project controls for the AISD Construction Management Department, said in a recent statement. “That process of engaged listening ultimately led to a project that we are all excited to see come into reality and begin impacting the students it is intended for.”

“This school is the direct result of a wonderful collaborative process with educators and the community,” LPA design director Kate Mraw said recently. “AISD really trusted the design team to develop a design that is educationally innovative, environmentally responsible and contextually beautiful.”

Added Federico Cavazos, project architect at LPA: “The design recognizes the importance of planning the campus like a city. Our experience in mixed-use developments really helped us combine the goals of the school and community.”

The site redevelopment of the former airport was a design-build project designed by Coleman Landscape Architects working in coordination with Jeoris General Contractors. Construction is now underway and projected to be finished by the fall of 2023.

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San Jose Welcomes First Phase of Innovative New Campus

School News — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 19:38:59 +0000

By Eric Althoff

SAN JOSE, Calif.—The Northern California Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) has opened the doors of both the Abram Agnew Elementary School and Dolores Huerta Middle School in San Jose. Architecture firm LPA designed both schools, which are both part of a larger effort to create an entire campus for grades K through 12 at one location. The Agnew and Huerta schools represent the first phase in that larger project.

Representatives of LPA, SCUSD and construction manager Swinerton were all present at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony. Also in attendance were state Senator Bob Wieckowski, whose district includes the campus, as well activist Dolores Huerta, for whom the middle school is named.

“These schools are many years in the making, and we are honored to have collaborated with the district and Swinerton, our construction partner, to bring them to life,” David Eaves, studio director at LPA, said at the ribbon-cutting. “The campus will support the academic and social growth of students for generations.”

Added Huerta: “I know what all of us are thinking: I wish I could’ve gone to this school.”

Also speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was SCUSD Superintendent Dr. Stella M. Kemp, who said that the upgraded classrooms will “rival those of our neighbors in Silicon Valley.”

Students at the new schools will learn in an environment “where people collaborate, develop solutions to real-world problems…and develop the mindset and skills to be resilient and future leaders in our community,” Kemp said.

The 55-acre campus site will also include the to-be-built Kathleen MacDonald High School, which is anticipated to open for students in the fall of 2022.

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LPA Wins AIA Design Award for California School Expansion

School News — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 13:21:28 +0000

By SCN Staff

IRVINE, Calif.—LPA recently won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects (national) Educational Facility Design Awards for the design of Tarbut V’Torah’s expansion. Only six projects in the country received this recognition.

Completed in 2018, this project was an effort to modernize the campus and re-establish the school’s prominence in Irvine, Calif. The total cost for lower school construction and upper school STEAM building was $25 million.

The campus expansion was part of a new strategic plan developed by the school’s trustees to grow the student body and re-establish Tarbut V’Torah as a premier independent school. LPA worked closely with the school’s administration and community to co-develop a program that responds to the school’s vision of future-ready learning environments.

The expansion of the campus included the addition of three new buildings—a maker building, a STEAM building, and a fitness building, in addition to outdoor learning environments. LPA’s engineers, designers and landscape architects worked with school leaders and students to develop spaces that address the social and emotional aspects of students, as well as the academic.

The school’s flexible learning environments allow for hands-on, project-based learning, indoors and out. Classrooms with glass walls open to the expansive views of the scenic Southern California community. A quad adjacent to the new buildings includes small group pods, an amphitheater and stage, evening performance lighting, a lunch terrace, an 18-foot-long concrete work bench table and a roof top huddle deck.

DPR Construction was the general contractor on this impressive project.

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California Nature Center and Preschool Earn Sustainable Design Award

School News — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 14:03:40 +0000

By SCN Staff

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) and Preschool in Newport Beach recently received the COTE® Top Ten Award, the industry’s most prestigious award for environmentally sensitive, high-performance design.

Architect design firm LPA received a national COTE Top Ten award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for the design of the ENC and Preschool on the five-acre campus. Consolidated Contracting was the general contractor on this project. The project cost of the Nature Center was $4.2 million, and $6.5 million for the Preschool.

The 9,000-square-foot center opened in 2008 as the first LEED Platinum building in the region. It provides environmental education through hands-on experiences with nature. Last September, a 10,380-square-foot preschool was added to deliver nature-based education for children ages 2½ to 5 years old through a series of intuitive indoor-outdoor play and education environments.

Children tend to an organic garden and harvest the produce as part of the curriculum.

“It introduces kids to responsible sustainability at a young age and is a place where people will want to send their children,” said one of the AIA jurors in a statement.

Energy efficiency and water conservation are in every element of the facility. The butterfly-shaped roof opens the classrooms to natural light and supports a 32KW array of photovoltaic panels, which are designed to provide 105 percent of the net energy for the preschool’s electrical needs.

Natural ventilation, low-energy ceiling fans and a radiant floor heating system eliminated the need for traditional HVAC systems. Rainwater is treated as an educational tool, where water is channeled through rock basins and bioswales, and naturally treated and clarified by plant materials.

“For LPA, COTE represents the highest honor because it focuses on actual performance,” said LPA President Dan Heinfeld. “We’ve always connected performance and design excellence as one of our core values.”

Added ENC Executive Director Bo Glover, “It was extremely important for the design to mirror our sensibilities on sustainability and energy efficiency. Working with LPA gave us a unique opportunity to design a nature-based preschool from the ground up.”

The preschool was developed through an integrated design process. A holistic approach was taken to addressing the educational spaces, as well as energy and water conservation. Learning spaces throughout the facility are designed to spark creativity, cooperative learning and imagination. A blend between indoor and outdoor learning environments provides children with an intuitive understanding of nature.

“We were able to work as a unit with educators, the community and ENC leaders to develop the idea of learning through nature in a facility that reflected the group’s core mission,” explained LPA Design Director Rick D’Amato.

In addition to being certified LEED Platinum in April, the preschool is also pursuing the Living Building Challenge’s Petal Certification, one of the first projects in the region to target both a high-level of sustainability and the healthy environment standard.

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