Cesar Chavez Elementary School

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Overview

• Location: Long Beach, CA
• Building type(s): Health care, Recreation, K-12 education
• New construction
• 69,600 sq. feet (6,470 sq. meters)
• Project scope: 2-story building
• Urban setting
• Completed September 2004

• Rating: Collaboration for High Performance Schools (CHPS) --Level: Certified

Built to accommodate students who were previously bused to schools outside their neighborhood, Cesar Chavez Elementary School is the Long Beach Unified School District's first school built using California's Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) green design principles. The K-5 school, a major project in the City of Long Beach's downtown redevelopment zone, includes joint-use spaces for the City's Parks, Recreation, and Marine Department and for a Long Beach Memorial Hospital Children's Clinic to support community and student wellness programs. These community uses were included to a catalyze redevelopment and encourage community unity and pride.

Environmental Aspects

The Long Beach Unified School District recognized the opportunity to build a high-performance school that would benefit the community in multiple ways. With the support of the School District and energy models, the design team developed highly efficient and synergistic mechanical, electrical, and architectural systems for the school.

The central plant cooling and heating system is unique among systems in small California schools. The cooling towers, located on a prominent corner of the school, are visible behind perforated screens. Internal corridors at the school are daylit via skylights and light monitors, which in turn allow light to reach classrooms through clerestory windows. Programmable direct/indirect pendant fixtures in all classrooms automatically dim when daylight is sufficient. The energy-efficiency measures are estimated to save over $29,000 in annual utility costs.

Recycled, rapidly renewable, durable, and low-maintenance materials highlight the building's structural green features, like its sunshades, clerestory windows, and the green wall that graces the courtyard and shades the gymnasium.

This project's creative use of valuable urban land is one of its most important features. Joint-use agreements with the City and with Long Beach Memorial Hospital bring much needed services to the community while reducing infrastructure requirements.

Owner & Occupancy

• Owned and occupied by Long Beach Unified School District, State government

• Typically occupied by 844 people, 37 hours per person per week; and 300 visitors per week, 15 hours per visitor per week

Building Programs

Indoor Spaces:	Classroom (45%), Circulation (18%), Gymnasium (11%), Mechanical systems (4%), Restrooms (3%), Lobby/reception (1%), Other (1%)
Outdoor Spaces:	Other (23%), Athletic field (22%), Pedestrian/non-motorized vehicle path (12%), Parking (10%), Shade structures/outdoor rooms (7%), Playground (5%), Drives/roadway (4%)

Keywords

Integrated team, Simulation, Operations and maintenance, Transportation benefits, Stormwater management, Efficient fixtures and appliances, Efficient irrigation, Drought-tolerant landscaping, Massing and orientation, Insulation levels, Glazing, Passive solar, HVAC, Lighting control and daylight harvesting, Efficient lighting, Durability, Recycled materials, Local materials, Occupant recycling, Connection to outdoors, Daylighting, Natural ventilation, Ventilation effectiveness, Thermal comfort, Noise control, Low-emitting materials

Team & Process

From the initial interview with Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), environmental responsibility shaped the design team's solution for the new downtown elementary school. The need for the school and its joint-use spaces provided a perfect opportunity to showcase green design and strengthen the neighborhood with new services. Part of a major downtown revitalization project, the school was sited on an existing site cluttered with dense industrial, warehouse, and low-income apartment buildings.

LBUSD recognized the opportunity to educate the local community about green design and to use the school as a showcase to change the way the community thought about schools in the district.

The District chose a central plant system after reviewing the lifecycle costs of various mechanical systems. Despite these early leanings, it was not until Savings By Design—a program administered by four California utilities—added expertise to the design team that LBUSD began to use a whole-building approach for choosing environmental features. These features, discussed as energy- and cost-saving strategies, changed the focus of the design from merely employing high-performance systems to providing a high-performance school.

One major design goal was to clearly express the building's green features in order to encourage curiosity. As the design process progressed, every design decision began to reflect a responsible environmental attitude while providing lower operating and maintenance costs. The team selected materials to highlight the differences between Cesar Chavez and existing district schools. This shifted the paradigm fundamentally; no longer were classrooms assumed to have the standard fixed windows, 2x4 lay-in parabolic light fixtures, and vinyl composition tile flooring.

Early in the design process, the team toured LBUSD's newest school, built in 1998. This facility had very little daylighting, and poorly placed windows and shading resulted in unevenly lit spaces and glare. LBUSD used a 1999 study conducted by the Heschong Mahone Group, which shows a strong correlation between daylighting and student performance, to support the decision to incorporate uniform and glare-free daylighting in Cesar Chavez Elementary. The goal of energy conservation also supported the decision to use extensive daylighting.

The design team began to incorporate into the aesthetics of the design systems and products—such as skylights, clerestories, a green screen, horizontal sunshades, sustainable materials, and drought-tolerant landscaping—that would showcase the building's environmental character.

The project's community uses significantly influenced the site layout, access, orientation, and security. In a number of planning discussions with the City, the design team examined how to maximize use of the site and reconfigure streets to integrate the project with the adjacent park. Once the new property lines were finalized, extensive meetings with local and county utility companies resolved the rerouting and upgrading of water, sewer, and storm-drain lines. The final site configuration featured a seamless joining of the park and school properties for student use during school hours and for community sharing of the school's gymnasium and hardcourts during after-school programs.

Since the school opened, several informal evaluations have reported that the staff, student, and community reaction to the facility is overwhelmingly positive. Creating such a facility in a low-income, urban redevelopment area generated a newfound sense of optimism throughout the community. The park promotes family activity, and the joint-use aspect of the school facility and the adjoining park strengthen the sense of community in area that was previously fragmented. The integrated community health clinic provides a valuable service, and the facility provides ongoing lessons to the community about sustainability and a respect for the environment.

• DOE-2 whole-building energy analysis

[Rick D'Amato](learnmore.cfm?ProjectID=635) LPA, Inc. Architect (Project designer) Irvine, CA [http://www.lpainc.com](http://www.lpainc.com)

Carri Matsumoto Long Beach Unified School District Facilities development and planning (Executive director) Long Beach, CA [http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us](http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us)

David Jacot Southern California Edison Energy consultant Westminster, CA [http://www.sce.com](http://www.sce.com)

Mark Mardock McCarthy Building Companies Construction manager (Vice president of education services) Newport Beach, CA [http://www.mccarthy.com](http://www.mccarthy.com)

[Kimberly Coffeen](learnmore.cfm?ProjectID=635) LPA, Inc. Project manager Irvine, CA [http://www.lpainc.com](http://www.lpainc.com)

Kim Spence LPA, Inc. Interior designer Irvine, CA [http://www.lpainc.com](http://www.lpainc.com)

Arash Izadi LPA, Inc. Landscape architect Irvine, CA [http://www.lpainc.com](http://www.lpainc.com)

Tom Culp Culp & Tanner, Inc. Structural engineer Lake Forest, CA [http://www.culpandtanner.com](http://www.culpandtanner.com)

Paulo Fundament Fundament & Associates, Inc. MEP engineer and lighting designer Irvine, CA [http://www.fa-eng.com](http://www.fa-eng.com)

John Mace Mace/Murphy Design Group, Ltd. Food services consultant Walnut, CA

Finance & Cost

State funds from the Office of Public School Construction financed approximately half of the construction cost and provided approximately $140,000 under AB16 Energy Allowance Grant. A local school bond measure approved by Long Beach voters in 1999 provided the other half of the funds. In addition, the City contributed some funding for the construction of the gymnasium.

LBUSD received an incentive for designing and constructing an energy-efficient project through the Savings By Design program, which encourages high-performance nonresidential building design and construction. The incentive helped defray the costs of designing an energy-efficient building. The school exceeded the Title 24 base case by 34.6%, which garnered it a $30,000 incentive from Savings By Design.

• Grant: Public agency
• Loans: Bond
• Procurement process: Design-bid-build

Cost data in U.S. dollars as of date of completion.

• Total project cost (land excluded): $15,548,000

LBUSD estimated that the design would save $29,000 in annual utility costs. These savings coupled with the Savings by Design incentive compelled the district to implement the more efficient central plant design and other features.

Land Use & Community

The urban site selected for the Cesar Chavez Elementary School is situated between two dissimilar neighborhoods. The apartment and single-family residences originally located on the site were relocated with financial assistance from the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency. An older residential neighborhood, with schools that have historically been critically overcrowded, lies to the north. LBUSD bused 2,000 students daily from this neighborhood to schools out of the area. To the south lies a newer, more affluent downtown area with high-rise buildings and ocean views.

One goal of the project was to bridge the gap between the residential and nonresidential areas and between lower and higher income neighborhoods. With Cesar Chavez Elementary School, the design team aimed to mesh these contrasting areas through dynamic forms that respond to their site orientation. The school itself acts as the focal point of the community, thereby strengthening the neighborhood’s self-concept. The site and building design strategies significantly reduced the negative impact of the new school on the surrounding community and environment. The unique architecture of the school also provides an identity to this area and grounds it within the larger city.

The Cesar Chavez Elementary School provides valuable resources for the community. Through a joint-use agreement with the City of Long Beach, the adjacent Cesar Chavez City Park provides valuable playfields for school use during the day. The agreement also regulates the use of the school’s gymnasium to support recreational programs for the community. The school also houses an onsite health clinic through an agreement with the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. These spaces and services were previously lacking in this part of the city and desperately needed. Their presence within the school solidifies its role as the center of the neighborhood. Together, the community services and school provide significant enduring value to the community.

The development of the Cesar Chavez Elementary School site met the goals of the City's master plan by eliminating blighted influences and environmental deficiencies including small and irregular lots, obsolete and aged buildings, and inadequate public infrastructure, such as water, sewer and storm-drain systems. The site reconfiguration resulted in an increase of open space, improved pedestrian routes, and upgrades to the public infrastructure to meet future needs. The school is one of the first amenities in a community expected to have over 700 new housing units built in the upcoming years.

Since the school is located near the students' homes, most of them walk to school. LBUSD estimates that nearly 95% of the building occupants use transit options other than single-occupancy vehicles. Street parking and mass-transit near the school reduced the need for onsite parking by 63% and allowed the school buildings to be constructed on a site much smaller than would otherwise have been required.

• Property Evaluation

  • Investigate property for possible contaminants (e.g., toxic or hazardous wastes, dumps)

• Responsible Planning

  • Ensure that development fits within a responsible local and regional planning framework

• Properties with Excessive Impacts

  • Avoid building on a flood-prone property

• Support for Appropriate Transportation

  • Provide access to public transportation
  • Incorporate traffic-calming measures

• Property Selection Opportunities

  • Select already-developed sites for new development

Site Description

The California Department of Education recommends a site of approximately 11 acres for a program like that of the Cesar Chavez Elementary School. Cesar Chavez, however, is built on only 2.6 acres and shares 5 acres of field space with the City.

The landscape design focused on drought-tolerant plant materials, including more than 100 new trees that reduce the project's contribution to the urban heat-island effect.

Prior to the school’s development, stormwater runoff was not filtered and flowed off the site. Now, runoff from all parking areas and roadways drains to onsite catch basins and is filtered through a continuous deflective separation (CDS) unit before being discharged into the public storm-drain system. The hardcourts are graded to shed surface runoff to permeable areas.

The building elements are arranged around an inner courtyard; the building's massing and orientation shelter this central quadrangle from Santa Ana winds, allowing it to be used even during periods of strong winds.

• Lot size: 2.60 acres
• Building footprint: 51,700 sq ft (4,800 sq meters)
• Previously developed land

Water Conservation and Use

The irrigation system utilizes low precipitation-rate heads and an evapotranspiration-based management system that employs flow sensors, rain shutoff devices, and a controller with a water-budgeting feature. The project's total estimated irrigation water use is 100,000 gallons per year less than the base allowance.

Water Use -

Total potable water use: 1,310,000 gal/yr
(4,940,000 liters/yr)

• Potable water use per unit area: 18.8 gal/sq ft (764 liters/sq meter)

• Landscape Plantings

  • Landscape with indigenous vegetation
  • Plant trees to shade parked vehicles
  • Minimize turf area

• Demand for Irrigation

  • Select plants for drought tolerance
  • Arrange plantings in groups according to water needs
  • Use mulch to improve water retention

• Integration with Site Resources

  • Use light-colored pavement to reduce heat island effect

• Irrigation Systems

  • Use water-efficient irrigation fixtures

  • Use automatic controls to improve efficiency and effectiveness of irrigation system

• Siting Analysis

  • Create a map of physical elements on the site (structures, topography, soils, hydrology)

Energy

Oriented primarily on an east-west axis, Cesar Chavez Elementary School takes advantage of the site's mild climate and natural onshore breezes with passive solar design principles. Horizontal sunshades and canopies over windows, laminated low-emissivity glazing, a cool roof, and high wall and roof insulating values reduce the building’s solar heat gain.

The lighting system in a typical Cesar Chavez classroom includes three rows of six four-foot pendant direct/indirect light fixtures. Each fixture has two T-8 fluorescent lamps. Half of the fixtures are within the daylight zone. During the day, these fixtures are dimmed to approximately 20% of their maximum lumen output. Occupancy sensors ensure that lights in unoccupied classrooms and offices are turned off. The school's reduction in lighting levels reduces heat generation by approximately 10%, thus reducing the need for air conditioning and operation of the fan-coil units.

All classrooms and offices feature operable windows. Skylights and light monitors bring daylight into stairwells and corridors. Interior clerestory windows bring light from the daylit corridors into the classrooms. A lighting control panel and a photocell minimize energy consumption for exterior lighting.

A central plant provides chilled and heated water for building cooling and heating. A four-pipe system conveys chilled and heated water through the building to fan-coil units. All classrooms are controlled by an energy management system that turns the fan-coil units on only when needed, and high-efficiency motors drive these fan-coil units. Variable-volume pumping further reduces energy consumption. The gymnasium is cooled via evaporative cooling, relieving additional capacity on the chillers and allowing them to operate at a lower rate of energy consumption.

As a result of the school's combined energy conservation measures, its peak demand is reduced by approximately 60% relative to the Title 24 base case.

The classrooms' operable windows would allow for natural light and ventilation during periods of power outage. In addition, emergency ballasts on light fixtures and battery backup on the fire alarm system would ensure fire and life safety in a power outage. The school also has an emergency generator for use as a backup power source for critical systems.

 

Materials & Resources

The design team sought out products with recycled or rapidly renewable content, low maintenance needs, high durability, and benefits to occupant health.

Approximately 80% of the flooring material in the school is linoleum, a durable, renewable product that requires less maintenance than conventional flooring options; dry mopping and spot cleaning significantly reduce the quantity of chemicals used in the school. The acoustical ceiling tiles, thermal batt insulation, gypsum wallboard, and sports flooring all have post-consumer recycled content. Medium-density fiberboard panels with no added urea-formaldehyde were selected for constructing the school's casework.

Recycling containers are located throughout the campus.

• Formaldehyde-Free, High-Impact, Wood-Fiber Acoustical Wall and Ceiling Panels

• Natural Linoleum Flooring

• Recycled-Content and Rapidly-Renewable Acoustical Ceiling Panels

• Recycled-Content Fiberglass Insulation
• Recycled-Content Playground Equipment
• Recycled-Content Synthetic Gypsum Board

The classrooms were designed to be flexible in order to fit varied teaching approaches. Each room is equipped with additional conduit for future data needs, ample storage space, a built-in teacher's desk, and a small alcove area with a sink. Each pair of classrooms shares a small breakout room to function as a conference room, a shared team-teach room, or a space for conducting small projects.

• Protection of Global Ecosystem

  • Minimize ozone-depletion potential of refrigerants in cooling systems

• Design for Materials Use Reduction

  • Determine whether varying functions can be accommodated in shared spaces

• Recyclable Materials

  • Use biodegradable materials

  • Select products that manufacturers will take back for recycling

• Recycling by Occupants

  • Specify recycling receptacles that are accessible to the occupants

• Toxic Upstream or Downstream Burdens

  • Use true linoleum flooring

• Post-Consumer Recycled Materials

  • Use plastic toilet partitions made from recycled plastic
  • Specify mulch made from post-consumer waste

• Pre-Consumer Recycled Materials

  • Specify aluminum products made from high levels of recycled scrap

  • Use recycled-rubber playfield surfaces

Indoor Environment

Windows in all of the classrooms provide students and teachers with a direct connection to the outdoors. Views from the classrooms include the downtown skyline, the landscape of the adjacent park, and the vertical green screen growing on the gymnasium’s quadrangle wall.

Daylighting is an important part of the design. Interior clerestory windows in the classrooms borrow light from the corridor skylights and light monitors to produce more uniform light levels in the classroom spaces. Sensors automatically dim the light fixtures when daylight is sufficient, and zoned light switches allow occupants to override the automatic lighting.

On moderate days, the operable windows provide natural ventilation, which minimizes the use of the mechanical system. When the windows are open, the teachers must manually turn off the air-conditioning system. When the weather doesn't allow for open windows, the fan-coil units serving each space deliver 20 cubic feet of outside air per occupant per minute to ensure good indoor air quality. A push-button override on thermostats allows the occupants to use the air-conditioning after-hours.

A number of interior finishes—including the linoleum flooring and the medium-density fiberboard panels used to construct the casework—were selected for their low chemical emissions.

• Thermal Comfort

  • Maintain relative humidity levels between 30% and 60%

  • Provide occupants with the means to control temperature in their area

• Visual Comfort and The Building Envelope

  • Orient the floor plan on an east-west axis for best control of daylighting

  • Use skylights and/or clerestories for daylighting

  • Choose interior and exterior glazing to maximize daylight transmission

• Visual Comfort and Interior Design

  • Install large interior windows to allow for the transmission of daylight

  • Locate floor openings under skylights to increase daylight penetration

• Ventilation and Filtration Systems

  • Provide occupants with access to operable windows

• Above Grade Rainwater and Groundwater

  • Use rooftop rainwater collection system to divert water from the building

• Reduction of Indoor Pollutants

  • Prefer formaldehyde-free batt insulation

Awards

• Savings by Design in 2005;  Category/title: Award of Merit

• AIA Orange County in 2005;  Category/title: Merit Award

• AIA Long Beach/South Bay Chapter in 2005;  Category/title: Honor Award

• AASA/CEFPI/AIA in 2007;  Category/title: Citation Award

• CHPS Green Apple Award in 2007;  Category/title: Honorable Mention

• AIA Orange County in 2001;  Category/title: Honorable Mention

• CASH/AIA Leroy F. Greene Award in 2002;  Category/title: In-Design Award of Excellence

• CASH/AIA Leroy F. Greene Award in 2005;  Category/title: Built Award of Honor

• AIACC/Concrete Masonry Association in 2006;  Category/title: Honor Award

• AASA/AIA in 2007;  Category/title: Citation Award

Ratings

• Collaboration for High Performance Schools (CHPS) in 2005;  achievement level: Certified Cesar Chavez Elementary School earned 32 total points, distributed as follows:

  • Site: 10 out of 14 points
  • Water: 0 out of 5 points
  • Energy: 10 out of 24 points
  • Materials: 2 out of 11 points
  • Indoor Environmental Quality: 10 out of 17 points
  • District Resolutions: 0 out of 10 points

Lessons Learned

Since the school was located in a redevelopment area, the project team held several community and neighborhood workshops to strengthen local support for the project. While the immediate neighborhood enthusiastically supported the project, one community group opposed the joint use of the existing park. Joint use of the park met a neighborhood need and eventually prevailed; however, the design team believes that discussing the environmental aspects of the school with the opposing group might have fostered their support more readily.

Collaborating with the Savings By Design team was an excellent experience for the project team. Savings By Design's analysis allowed LBUSD to evaluate hard data, such as annual utility savings, during its decision-making process. Working together, the teams refined alternative designs to achieve the best solution for the district.

The design team learned that specifications should provide green performance criteria. The team encountered challenges specifying “equal” products to satisfy California’s public contract code. Performance criteria would have helped the team evaluate the design impact of proposed substitutions.

Learn More

Cesar Chavez Elementary School is located at 730 West Third Street in Long Beach, California.

Rick D'Amato (Tour Contact) LPA, Inc. 5161 California Avenue, Suite 100 Irvine, CA  92617 949-261-1001 [http://www.lpainc.com](http://www.lpainc.com)

• Books

  • Designing the Sustainable School Editors: Ford, Alan (2007) ISBN: 9781864702378

  • Mainstream Green: Sustainable Design by LPA LPA, Inc. (Dec. 2005) ISBN: 1 86470 122-6
    This book includes a case study of Cesar Chavez Elementary School.

• Others

  • Report: Learning from Disaster: A Vision and Plan for Sustainable Schools and Revitalized Public Education in New Orleans in the Wake of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina Editors: Wilson, Alex (2006)
    This report, published by the U.S. Green Building Council, came out of a charrette on rebuilding New Orleans schools, which took place during the Greenbuild Conference, held November 9-11, 2005, in Atlanta. It includes case studies of J. J. Pickle Elementary School in Austin, Texas; Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Long Beach, California; and Langston High School in Arlington, Virginia. http://green_reconstruction.buildinggreen.com/documents/

*Primary Contact* Rick D'Amato LPA, Inc. Architect (Project designer) 5161 California Avenue, Suite 100 Irvine, CA  92617 949-261-1001 [http://www.lpainc.com](http://www.lpainc.com)

Kimberly Coffeen LPA, Inc. Project manager Irvine, CA   949-701-4157 [http://www.lpainc.com](http://www.lpainc.com)