Bethke
Elementary School
Poudre School District
Fort Collins, Colorado
Date: 2008
Cost: $9,900,000
Area: 63,000 GSF
Bethke is the first school in the nation to achieve LEED® for Schools Gold. SBEC is the Mechanical and Electrical Engineer for this project, which has also been designated as the nation's first school to earn 3 Green Globes™ with the Green Building Initiative.
Bethke Elementary School is the fourth construction project to utilize the prototype design, and includes improved energy efficiency designs which reduce operating costs 40-50 percent. The resulting construction costs realized a 10 percent savings as compared to other schools built in the Colorado Front Range region.
Some of Bethke's sustainable features include natural daylighting, a high-efficiency building envelope, state-of-the-art high-efficiency mechanical and electrical systems, operable windows for controlled occupant comfort as well as the use of renewable energy resources. Indoor air quality, lighting control and acoustic considerations were all managed through the building's design. Except for the gymnasium, the school is fully air conditioned through the very energy-efficient use of indirect evaporative cooling.
